Meta Effect
by The Saint Of Killers
Summary: Johnathan Achilles Kent, son of Conner and Cassandra Kent. Born as a Meta. Raised as a Warrior. Chose to be a Soldier. Forced to be a Hero. Having saved the world once before, he must now save the galaxy. Pre-52 DCU continuation, merging with Mass Effect.
1. Not So Secret Origins

**Chapter 1 - Not So Secret Origins**

Establishing connection to UEG archives

Connection established

Searching 'Spectre Jonathan Kent'

One item found

Accessing folder 'Dossier: Kent, Jonathan Achilles'

Accessing cross references

Following link: Specter Candidate

Accessing folder 'Spectre Candidate Selection Committee'

Accessing folder 'transcripts'

Accessing file 'meeting 21830715'

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Security clearance level: Watchtower

Transcript of final meeting of the Spectre Candidate Selection committee

Location: SSV Olympus, geosynchronous Earth orbit over New York City.

Date: 07-15-2183, 5:20pm EST

Attending:  
Admiral Steven Hackett, Fifth Fleet  
Ambassador Donnel Udina, Citadel Embassy  
Director Amanda Waller, Department of Metahuman Affairs  
Captain David Anderson, SSV Normandy SR-1

Udina: Now that we're all ready, should we review?

Hackett: That's a waste of time. There's really only one candidate to consider.

Waller: We're here to determine if there is a solid reason not to select him.

Anderson: Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Achilles Kent.

Udina: The Council wants a representative for humanity and you want to send them someone who isn't human?

Hackett: Your prejudice is showing, Udina. You know damn well that Kent's DNA is almost completely human.

Anderson: The Admiral's right. Just because he's a Meta doesn't mean he isn't human. He was born on Earth, after all.

Udina: He's still part-alien.

Waller: I know our second contact with alien life did not go _nearly_ as well as the first. But then, the first Superman was raised on Earth, even if he was born elsewhere. Besides, there aren't any other Kryptonians left.

Hackett: Yes, they technically represent humanity's first alien contact, but no one considers them aliens. They're Earthlings. And Kent's mother is completely human.

Udina: Yes, but we must consider the family he was born into...

Anderson: He was raised among the greatest of humanity's protectors. Conner Kent has more than lived up to the first Superman's legacy.

Udina: Need I remind you that he is a clone of humanity's greatest villain.

Waller: Conner Kent has the DNA of both Lex Luthor _and_ Clark Kent. Don't try to make him into something he isn't, Ambassador.

Hackett: Conner Kent is his own man. He's more than proven his worth as the bearer of Superman's crest. And his son proved himself during the Blitz.

Udina: Of course. We can't question Kent's courage.

Anderson: He's the only reason Elysium is still standing. Hell, he's the only reason any of us are here!

Udina: If we're going to consider this course of action, why not a more powerful Meta? Captain Atom, for example?

Waller: Almost all Meta follow the Justice League Compact. They all stay planetside.

Anderson: And Captain Atom hasn't been part of the military in nearly a century.

Hackett: We can't send a more powerful Meta. It took years, decades even, before we accepted Metas as part of humanity. And the other races want us to wait centuries before they will treat us as equals.

Anderson: Kent's powers put him on par with biotics.

Waller: Well, perhaps not simply on par. He can do more than almost any biotic we can find on record anywhere.

Hackett: The other races may publicly question why we didn't send our heaviest hitter but privately they'll be relieved. At our current rate of expansion they're scared we'll try to establish a galactic empire. Better to send someone that only outclasses them on an individual basis than a planetary one.

Udina: I will concede that point. There are degrees of power, however. So I will put the question again. Why not another Meta? There are always Metas popping up in the colonies.

Waller: We've known for a long time that humanity will eventually evolve into Metas. The ones we see now are outliers. And they all join the League. The ones that don't aren't worth mentioning. Criminals, at best.

Anderson: Except for Kent. He joined the Systems Alliance. He's an N7. One of our best.

Udina: A choice his mother was ecstatic about, I'm sure.

Waller: Cassandra Sandsmark is an Amazon by adoption, not birth. She has always favored the integration of Metas and humans.

Anderson: She was the one that convinced Atlantis and Themyscira to join the UEG.

Udina: What will the rest of the galaxy think when it learns that Kent was raised in a chauvinist military culture?

Waller: Since when was Kent a Krogan?

Udina: Hilarious.

Anderson: Oh, lighten up, Udina. The galaxy at large barely understands humanity as it is. Do you really think they'll be concerned about the reputation of the Amazons? Besides, how does that make him different than any other military brat from a service family?

Udina: The difference is what he was taught.

Hackett: Which is none. The Systems Alliance military _uses_ Amazon techniques and doctrines. Kent came to us with a thorough understanding of small unit strategy and tactics and unparalleled melee combat skills.

Anderson: He broke _all_ the records at N School. We don't _have_ a better soldier.

Waller: And unless more Metas follow his example, it's likely we never will.

Hackett: Kent's career has been a test run to see if a Meta can integrate completely with human society without the League. It's worked out marvelously.

Udina: He is still a member of the Justice League. And the League itself should be brought in line with the Systems Alliance charter.

Hackett: That's beyond the purview of this committee. Besides, that issue was decided at the founding of the Alliance and the UEG.

Waller: The Justice League was granted sovereignty to put them outside the reach of politics. Their extra-territorial powers only extend to the policing of Meta-crimes.

Udina: Yes I am aware-

Waller: In return, the Compact prohibits Metahuman interference in human affairs barring disasters, threats to humanity, or where their aid is requested in internal affairs.

Udina: I know that-

Waller: That way we don't have Metas being used as weapons of mass destruction in our internal conflicts. Kent is step toward unification and ultimately bringing the League under the Systems Alliance umbrella.

Anderson: Kent has fulfilled his duty to both the League and the Alliance for years without problems.

Waller: Exactly. Instead of the League lending us one of their members to help resolve a crisis, the Alliance is lending them a soldier to aid them.

Hackett: And we've made use of his League status on more than one occasion. Kent has become our go-to troubleshooter.

Anderson: Kent's record speaks for itself. He always gets the job done: The Skyllian Blitz, the siege of Torfan, the Doom Plot, The Gates of Tartarus. Kent has been instrumental in each of these. He saved a colony then goes and tops it by saving an entire planet. Then he saves the entire human race!

Udina: None of the aliens will believe the last two. Most of them don't even believe in _Superman_.

Anderson: Kent will make them believe. We need someone who can serve as a symbol of humanity to the galaxy at large. Who better than the next Superman?

Udina: You know he doesn't have the power for that!

Waller: I sincerely hope you are playing Devil's advocate, Ambassador. First you don't want him because he's a Meta. Now you don't want him because he isn't Meta enough?

Udina: We all know that a lot of humanity sees him as a disappointment. The son of the two most powerful people in the galaxy and he has the strength of neither.

Anderson: That's not true! Kent can't help what he is. And the public loves him. 'Savior of Elysium. Hero of the Blitz. Conqueror of Cronos. The hero with the heart of steel.'

Waller: Whatever public opinion might have been _before,_ his accomplishments have changed all that. Now the everyman looks up to him _precisely_ because he isn't that powerful. And he still stands tall next to his father.

Udina: Are we sure we want to lose Kent to the Council?

Hackett: All we have on the Spectres suggests that won't be the case. The Council rarely gives them specific assignments. And they routinely undergo missions from their home governments. Which is why most Spectres are funded by their own governments instead of the Council.

Waller: He would be our Spectre as well as the Council's.

Anderson: And even if that wasn't the case, Kent himself would never allow it. He's taken two oaths to defend humanity. He won't break either of them for anything. The Gates of Tartarus proved that.

Udina: This will still be a great deal of authority to give one individual. N7, Leaguer, now Spectre. We will only be increasing his fame.

Anderson: Are you afraid this will go to his head?

Udina: No. I am afraid of what will happen when we increase Kent's visibility and importance even further.

Waller: His enemies.

Udina: Exactly. He isn't invulnerable. We make him into the symbol of humanity and any one of his long list of enemies will be tempted to strike at him.

Waller: There's no doubt about that. However, Kent has always been a target. That hasn't stopped him. And the Blitz put him on the map with the other species.

Hackett: He's already famous and rightfully so. He's already a lightning rod for criminals, mundane and Meta alike. But he also has the League's support. And ours as well. We're not throwing him to the wolves.

Anderson: Even if we did, it's the wolves that should be worried. The son of Superman and Wonder Woman? Trained by the Batman, the Amazons, and the Alliance?

Waller: I know we've been ganging up on the Ambassador a little-

Udina: A coincidence, certainly.

Waller: -but he's raised several valid points. We've skirted around one of them already. While Kent can get the job done, he can be quite ruthless.

Udina: What will that say to the rest of the galaxy?

Anderson: That humanity isn't afraid to get its knuckles bloody. And don't start with that Butcher of Torfan shit. Just a bunch of Batarian propaganda. He racked up a far higher body count during the Blitz and hardly anyone mentions that.

Waller: Because the Blitz was a defensive action. Torfan was an offensive. And collapsing the tunnels to starve the defenders? That's not something Superman would do.

Hackett: But it is something a leader would do. His orders prevented a lot of casualties. And he achieved all his objectives. We can't ask for anything more from our commanders.

Udina: It's still something the Council and the other races will latch on to.

Anderson: And this is where Kent's transparency helps us. His entire career is available for public review. Besides, Spectres have been known to do far worse in the name of galactic peace.

Waller: You may be letting your own experience color your judgement, Captain. But, considering the Council accepted Saren's actions, perhaps you are right. They may see it as proof that he'll do what it takes to get the job done. But you have to remember, that Kent's appointment will shape the perception of humanity in the galaxy at large.

Udina: Exactly my point. We need to consider this from all angles, gentlemen. And Lady. Kent is an unorthodox choice. Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?

Anderson: It's the only one who can. Kent represents all of humanity in a way no one else could.

Hackett: The first human spectre will be a symbol to the galaxy. Kent's already an icon.

Waller: But a contentious one. Kent is a flashpoint for all the issues that humanity is currently struggling with. Giving him a greater profile may just be putting more fuel on the fire.

Hackett: Those issues will play themselves out with or without him. Yes, he is a lightning rod but the direction he represents is an ideal one. Full integration of both worlds. He's earned all the accolades we've given him while still staying true to the ideals of the League.

Waller: The best of human nobility with just enough teeth to keep from being a pushover.

Anderson: Exactly. It's time that the Alliance lived up to its charter and held all sentients to be equivalent. Human, Meta or not. Kent is far and away the best choice to be a Spectre. He's both trustworthy and capable. Far more than any other candidate we have.

Udina: For the record I agree with all of you. Oh, don't look at me like that, Anderson. It's my job to look at everything from all angles to ensure what's best for humanity. I think Kent would make an excellent choice.

Hackett: So then we're all agreed? Kent is our choice?

Anderson: Yes.

Waller: Yes.

Udina: I'll make the call.

End display file

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In 2020 Necron, Lex Luthor and Ra's al-Ghul set off a chain of events that threatened all of reality. The villains called it a Reckoning. The heroes called it a Crisis. Humanity called it the Apocalypse.

For the first time, humanity fought alongside its protectors. Millions perished in the conflict, hero and villain alike. In the end the original Justice League: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, and the Flash, sacrificed themselves to seal the dimensional breaches opened by the villains.

Reality was saved.

But where the Metahumans once numbered in the thousands now there were barely a hundred. With the destruction of almost all the villains and the sealing of most dimensional travel that had plagued humanity, most of the heroes chose to retire and help rebuild. Humanity entered a golden age of peace and prosperity.

In the year 2148, explorers on Pluto discovered the remains of an ancient space faring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies enabling faster than light travel. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.

They called it the greatest scientific discovery in human history.

The civilizations of the galaxy call it Mass Effect.


	2. Shakedown Run

**Chapter 2 - Shakedown Run**

Jonathan Achilles Kent stepped off the end of the Normandy's staging deck. He closed his eyes as the wind rushed passed him. For a moment he imagined himself free of gravity's hold. And then he struck the ground, leaving a sizable crater in the rocky earth.

Beside him, Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was glowing with dark energy as he used his biotics to slow his fall. Kent had always admired the visible display of power biotics possessed. As well as the ability to control the weight of their landings. Of course, none of them could use their biotics in quite the same way he could his Touch Telekinesis.

That term was a bit of a misnomer that stuck ever since his dad had first coined the phrase. He had more range with it but he'd never displayed the level of power his dad had, even before his dad's Kryptonian abilities kicked in. Now at 25 years of age, Kent was far past the point where his dad had developed his full powers.

He ran a quick systems check on his suit as he waited for Jenkins to join them. Instead of an Alliance-issue hardsuit, Kent's armor was a nanotech weave. In its dormant state, Kent wore it under his clothes as a set of wrist and ankle bracers. Once activated it quickly covered his skin from the jaw down in a kinetic-resistant, form-fitting suit. The suit was matte black, broken up only by the red on white N7 stripe on his right arm, the N7 logo on the right side of his chest and the house of El crest over his heart.

It was actually the current Batsuit customized for heavy combat. It had been a gift from Uncle Thomas once he earned his N7 designation. It didn't have the mask and pointed ears of Batman's suit nor did it have retractable wings and rocket boots. It did have kinetic shielding and a solar energy array. The latter wasn't nearly as useful to him as it would be to his dad but Uncle Thomas had insisted.

His suit also had Alliance-comm gear built into it, as well as full crypto-analysis gear. In fact, his suit had Batman's full suite of crime investigation tools, despite the fact that Kent wasn't a detective by trade. Still, the tools had proven useful on several occasions. And the utility belt had proven useful enough that the Alliance was working on their own design.

While his guns were Alliance-issue, they were heavily customized and painted black to blend with his costume. He also carried a short sword strapped to his thigh. A gift from his mom.

Jenkins had gushed over his suit and sword. Even the usually unflappable Alenko had seemed very impressed. Most marines admired the looks and the tools but were leery of heading into combat without armor. However, since this was the suit he wore during the Blitz, they all regarded it with respect. After all, until he had wrestled guns away from the attacking pirates, he'd made due with the tools built into the suit. And he'd come out without a serious wound or injury.

His check done, Kent focused on his mission. Recover the Prothean beacon and check for survivors. He took a slow breath. Combat wasn't a concern for him, even with the colony under attack by an unknown enemy. An audition to join the Spectres, however-

"That was so cool!" enthused Jenkins as he unclipped himself from the zip-line he'd used to exit the ship. "The way you two…"

Kent glanced at Jenkins, wondering why he'd stopped. The stricken look on the Private's face made him turn around.

"Oh god," breathed Jenkins, "what happened here?"

"Nothing but smoke and death," muttered Alenko. While Kent remained silent, he agreed with the lieutenant's assessment. Large swaths of Eden Prime were on fire. Off on the horizon he could see an entire village was nothing but ruins.

 _"This colony was hit hard, commander. I'm moving ahead. We'll meet up at the dig site,"_ came the voice of Nihlus over their radio.

" _Copy that,_ " replied Kent as he gripped Jenkins shoulder. "We need to get to the dig site," he told Jenkins, "That's the quickest way to stop this. Do you recognize where we are?"

Jenkins shook off his shock and looked around. "Uh, yeah, yeah I do," answered Jenkins, his voice growing in strength as he spoke. "I used to play in that quarry. The map has the dig site at the end of a ravine. We can reach it through the woods up on the left." Jenkins pointed at a rise on the near side of the quarry.

"Let's move then." The rise was dotted with stones and boulders that broke up their lines of sight. Kent frowned when he noticed Jenkins getting ahead of him and not moving from cover to cover. It was a small break in protocol, especially since there were no contacts on their HUDs. However it was a bad habit to get into-

Jenkins died in a hail of rockets.

Three drones were coming at them from behind a large boulder. Kent didn't recognize their design. He dove behind a large standing stone as a wave of rockets flew toward him. The rockets impacted against a boulder behind his current position. Alenko was off to his right, wrapped in a biotic barrier. Kent stepped out and fired his pistol. He ducked back and a trio of rockets hit his cover. The stone held.

Kent palmed a discus. Uncle Thomas had initially tried to teach him to use batarangs but his mom had insisted he use a differently shaped projectile. They'd eventually settled on using small razor-sharp discs. The discus was flying through the air before he even finished popping out of cover. It's low velocity, compared to bullets, bypassed the middle drone's shields. The discus' sharp edge easily embedded itself in the drone's carapace. There was a single beep before the high explosives inside the discus detonated. The explosion set off the drone's currently chambered rocket. The compounded explosion took out the entire wing of drones.

Alenko was already moving toward Jenkins before the explosion cleared. "Ripped right through his shields," he reported sadly as Kent walked over, "never stood a chance."

"We'll make sure he gets a proper burial. For now we need to stay focused and complete our mission."

"Aye-aye, sir." The two marines scanned the remains of the drones but the explosion left them as unrecognizable lumps of metal. Until he was sure of the enemy's capabilities Kent wouldn't risk giving away their location by establishing an uplink to the Extranet in order to compare the data from the fragments. All either of them could tell was that the metal was not from in-system.

They had another encounter at the tree line with a flight of drones. Now ready, Alenko lay down an Overload that froze the drones in place, making them easy prey for Kent's assault rifle. They moved up and were about to inspect the remains when gunfire prompted them to take position at the top of the ridge. Kent saw the ravine Jenkins spoke about. He also saw an alliance marine in heavy armor running from two drones. She dove and turned in midair as the drones fired a stream of bullets at her. She took one out with her pistol before she hit the ground. She took out the second as she slid to a stop near a boulder.

As she stood up Kent's attention was drawn to two humanoid machines that were laying a groggy colonist over a strange purple platform. A spike shot out of the platform, impaling the colonist. The marine must have gasped because the two robots rounded on her. They got as far as raising their weapons when Kent landed on one, crushing him under the force of his landing. The other turned toward him, chittering away, only to be cut diagonally from Kent's backhand swing.

The marine stared at Kent in shock as he set his sword back on the specialized magnetic slot built into his left thigh. She didn't snap out of it until Alenko ran up. Her eyes quickly noted their insignias. They widened when she saw the crest on Kent's chest. She snapped her head back up to his face as Kent drew close. "Kent?" she asked incredulously.

"Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Kent," he said in greeting. He pointed at Alenko. "Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. We're with the SSV Normandy."

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the Two-Twelve," she answered with a salute. "Thanks for the save, sir."

"You wounded?"

"Scratches and burns, nothing serious," she said dismissively as she began to pace. "The others weren't so lucky." She shook her head and sighed. "Oh man. We were patrolling the outer perimeter when we were hit. We tried to get a distress call out but they cut off communications. Lost half our squad in the first attack. Lost the rest when we tried to double back and join up with the Two-Fourteen back at the dig site."

"Have you been able to raise anyone else?" asked Kent.

Williams morosely shook her head. "No. Damn it! My whole squad!"

"Hey," interrupted Kent gently, "there wasn't anything you could have done. Your team got the distress call out. The alliance is already on their way. Besides, whatever these things are, they're very good at ambushes. We lost a squad mate ourselves a couple dozen meters back."

Williams nodded. She squared her shoulders and seemed to collect herself. "I, I think they're Geth."

"Geth?" asked Alenko in surprise. "They've never been seen outside the Perseus veil."

"Are you sure?" asked Kent as he eyeballed the remains he'd left behind.

"I wouldn't have been able to identify them except Crewes was talking about them last week. He managed to hunt down a pic of them on the Extranet." She looked away sadly. "He was always looking stuff like that up."

"Why would the Geth be here?" asked Alenko as he and Williams followed Kent over to the Geth remains.

"They're probably after the Beacon," suggested Williams with a shrug. "It's just around the bend."

"We could use your help, Williams. Come with us," said Kent expectantly.

"Aye-aye, sir. Time for some payback," she said eagerly. Alenko handed her Jenkins' weapons while Kent added her to their squad-net. Once that was done Kent held his hand over the bisected Geth.

"Oracle, do we have anything on the internal banks on the Geth?"

A head popped up from his dark blue omnitool. The feminine head had a sharp nose and chin. Two dark lines arched over two blank almond-shaped eyes. Instead of ears, two sharp points extended vertically from a half-circle bump. From the lower back of the head six swept back square protrusions fanned out, three on each side, reminiscent of both hair and bird's wings.

Williams instantly recognized the Commander's stylized VI avatar as the original Batgirl. She didn't have the slightest clue why he called it Oracle.

" _Basic information is available._ "

"No detection package?"

" _There is no a local install. Connect to the Net?_ "

"No. I'm scanning mostly intact Geth remains. Extrapolate a detection package from the data." A blue grid pattern was projected over the Geth from Kent's omnitool.

" _Scanning…analyzing…processing…complete._ "

"Copy and install to squad."

" _Firmware package built. Sending…installing…done._ " Immediately, several contacts appeared on the team's HUDs.

"Lock and load," ordered Kent as he drew his assault rifle and moved the team to the bend in the ravine. A short gunfight ensued against four Geth. They were remarkably easy to dispatch since they simply charged forward recklessly. Their path to the dig site now unimpeded, they discovered the Beacon had been moved. Moving up into the science camp they discovered the purpose behind the strange impalement devices the Geth were using. They made their victims into zombies.

"Oh my God! They're still alive!" yelled out Alenko.

"What did the Geth do to them?" asked a horrified Williams.

"Open fire!" ordered Kent. Six corpses were running straight for them. Two went down under their combined fire but the other four managed to get within a meter of them. A blast of telekinesis sent two flying away. Alenko's throw caught the other two. The team quickly mowed them down before they could recover. Kent signaled the team to hold their fire and levitated the last hostile in front of him. It howled and moaned and trashed impotently.

"Why aren't we blowing this _thing_ away?" asked Williams as she glared at the corpse.

"Oracle, analyze this thing." A blue grid of light played over Kent's captive.

" _Subject appears to be a deceased human. Its body has been dehydrated completely. Extensive cybernetic alterations have been made to reanimate the body. The technology matches no known species._ "

"Not even the Geth?" asked Alenko.

" _No. This technology is completely different._ "

"What weaknesses does this thing have?" asked Kent.

" _Despite extensive cybernetic remodeling the technology still uses the deceased victim's nervous system to transmit signals. A central processing unit is located in the head. Extensive trauma will also cause a shutdown. There is a power source in the center of the chest. Damage or removal should cause all installed cybernetics to cease function._ "

"Go for the head or the heart. Good to know," said Williams darkly. Kent drew his sword and cut the thing's head off.

"Whatever those pikes are, they turn people into husks then stuff them full of tech," said Kent as he approached one of the inactive pikes.

"Hell of a psychological attack," observed Alenko. "But if it's not Geth tech, where did it come from? And how did the Geth get it?"

"Don't know, But that's beyond us. Our priorities are survivors and the beacon. We've got two people in that prefab," pointed Kent. "Come on."

The two people turned out to be scientists who survived the attack. They had an odd conversation with a terrified Doctor Warren and her mentally disturbed assistant Miguel. Fortunately, Kent had a sedative in his belt and made sure that Miguel didn't have an episode or hurt someone else. They hadn't taken two steps out of the camp when Alenko called out, "Look at that!"

Off in the distance was a ship. At least, Kent assumed it was a craft of some kind. Even if it was shaped like a squid. His HUD put the ship at a massive two kilometers in length. It was too far for further analysis but for something that massive to land on a standard gravity world it would've needed incredibly powerful mass effect fields.

There was a loud low roar, like a ram's horn. Kent felt it more than heard it. Alenko doubled over and clutched at his head. Williams stumbled back as if she'd been hit. The giant ship lifted off, the ground under it bursting into hellfire. Kent watched it take off and disappear into space, his heart racing.

" _Commander: Comm interference has disappeared,_ " stated Oracle over the team's radio.

"Establish connection to the Extranet," said Kent quickly, "upload all data gathered and query for matches." Kent helped Alenko straighten himself. Williams was holding her rifle limply by her side and breathing heavily.

" _Uploading._ "

Alenko straightened up and shook his head to clear it. Kent turned to Williams. She brought her rifle up and pointed it at him.

"Contacts!" she yelled as she opened fire as Kent dove to the side with Alenko. A group of husks had managed to sneak up on them while they were distracted by the strange ship. Alenko hit one with Stasis, freezing it in place with a time-dilation field. Kent jumped up and punted the third husk.

It flew up five meters into the air and landed with a crunch on the stairs that led into the tram station.

"Holy…" drawled Williams as she stared at the flying body. The boom of Kent's shotgun broke her from her stupor as he unloaded onto the husk stuck in stasis. His attack broke Alenko's hold on the hostile even as the pellets from his gun shredded it. A group of Geth attacked at range with their assault rifles. Williams' sniper rifle was more effective.

" _Ground Team, this is Normandy,_ " came the voice of Captain Anderson over their radio. " _Damn it Commander, answer._ "

" _This is Ground Team, we read you Normandy._ "

" _Thank God. We've been cut off from you since we broke line of sight._ "

" _That ship was jamming communications all over the colony._ "

" _Yes,_ " answered Anderson slowly, " _we caught sight of it before it leapt to FTL. What's the situation groundside?_ "

" _The whole colony has been ransacked. By the Geth._ "

" _Geth!? What the hell are they doing here?_ "

" _They're after the Prothean Beacon._ "

" _If the Geth came out of exile for it the Beacon must be more important than we realized._ "

" _We also ran into some strange new tech. The Geth used it to turn captured humans into some kind of zombie._ "

" _Zombie?_ "

" _Oracle, upload the last visual scans to the Normandy._ "

" _Uploading… upload complete._ "

" _My God,_ " whispered Anderson.

" _Yeah, six of those things rushed us when we first saw them._ "

" _And the Geth made them?_ "

" _They have some kind of mechanical pike. They impale people on them. Makes them into that._ "

" _Commander, your mission is still to secure the beacon,_ " ordered Anderson hesitantly.

" _I know, sir. We've tagged some survivors. Latest Intel puts the beacon at the tram station. Moving to investigate now._ "

" _Understood. We'll monitor your comms. Keep in touch, Commander. We still haven't been able to raise Nihlus._ "

" _I'll keep an eye out._ " Kent paused. " _We lost Jenkins, sir._ "

" _Damn. He was a good man._ "

" _We activated his beacon. We had to leave him behind._ "

" _You did the right thing, Kent. Get your mission done. I'll make sure Jenkins gets picked up. Normandy out._ "

They found three more survivors in a storage shed. One of them let slip that they had smuggled goods. It turned out some of the spaceport workers had been skimming weapons from Alliance supply shipments.

Williams was understandably upset.

The dock workers quickly confessed to everything they'd done once they realized who Kent was. There were _some_ benefits to being the son of Humanity's greatest heroes and a hero in your own right.

Down at the tram station they found Nihlus. He was dead. Outwardly Kent ordered Williams and Alenko to cover him. Inwardly he tried to call up all of his Uncle's lessons on crime scene investigation. Fortunately, he had a cheat sheet.

"Oracle, set up a crime scene." Four miniscule drones flew off from his omnitool and marked a holographic grid, five meters square, centered on the victim.

"Cause of death?" His trained eye told him that Nihlus was shot at close range in the back of the head.

" _Single gunshot wound to the rear of the victim's head. Time of death is T minus 20 minutes._ " That confirmed his observation. A quick scan also revealed a bullet partially embedded in a shipping crate. He extended the crime scene to encompass the crate.

"Scan bullet and match. Analyze spray and impact point to determine victim's position at time of death." A holo silhouette representing Nihlus appeared at the foot of the body. Two points jumped out at Kent. One was the fact that Nihlus was looking away. The second was how loosely he was standing. "Oracle, was the victim tensed at TOD?"

" _Negative._ "

"Is there any record of a kinetic impact at TOD?"

" _Negative._ "

"What does that mean, Commander?" asked Williams as she tried not to stare at the holograms.

"He was shot _inside_ of his shields. With Nihlus' motion sensors, it would have been impossible for a Geth to sneak up on him. He had his guard down and his back turned to the shooter."

"He turned his back to the killer?" asked Williams in disbelief.

"It was someone he trusted," Kent said soberly. "And since no one we ran into knew he was here-" Kent spun, drawing his pistol in a smooth motion. There had only been a blip but their combat radar _had_ detected movement behind the crates. "Come out! We know you're there!" ordered Kent.

"Don't shoot! I'm human!" A human male, dressed in the uniform of the spaceport dockworkers stepped out from behind the crate.

"Who are you? What were you doing back there?" barked Williams. She and Alenko were both aiming their weapons at the man.

"I was hiding from those crazy robots," explained the man as he eyed the group's weapons warily. Kent lowered his gun. The man was in range of his telekinesis if he tried anything. Williams and Alenko lowered their weapons as well.

"How long have you been there?" asked Kent. With his suit's Investigation mode active, he saw that the man was struggling not to succumb to a panic attack.

"Since before they started killing everyone." The man took a deep breath. "There was a sound. Horrible. Woke me up and made my head feel like it was going to explode." The man shook his head. "I came out and saw a bunch of robots killing everyone. I hid."

Kent frowned. "You were behind the crates when the attack began? Asleep?"

The man turned away in shame. "Sometimes I, I need a little nap. To make it through the day. I hide back there so I won't get caught."

"You survived because you were lazy?" exclaimed Williams incredulously. The man shrugged helplessly.

"If you've been here all that time did you see what happened to the Turian?" Kent gestured at Nihlus.

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "I saw. There was another Turian. He," the man gestured to Nihlus, "seemed to know him. Called him Saren. Turned his back. The other one shot him."

"I need your ID. The alliance will need you to make a statement about the murder. There're survivors at the Science Camp," said Kent as he scanned the man's ID chip. "Hide out with them and wait for the Alliance to come find you."

"Yeah," drawled the man as he ran a hand over his face wearily. He didn't notice Kent stiffen as his ID info came up on Kent's omnitool. "Yeah, I'll do that."

"Your name is Cole?" asked Kent directly. Williams jumped at the name.

"Yeah," answered Cole in confusion, "what about it?"

"You're the smugglers' contact at the spaceport!" yelled Williams angrily, pointing her rifle at Cole.

"No! I, I," Cole raised his hands and stared at the Rifle.

"We already know, Cole," said Kent firmly. He glanced at Williams. She was angry but her finger wasn't inside the trigger guard. Smart girl.

Cole deflated. "We had a small smuggling ring. We took a few weapons here and there. Not enough for anyone to notice."

"You greedy son of a bitch! We're risking our asses to protect you and you're ripping us off!"

"This is Eden Prime! Who was gonna attack this colony?"

"A lot of good men and women died today," said Kent. "Any one of them might have needed the weapons you stole."

Cole hung his head. "I, I'm sorry. But all my friends are dead now. Haven't I paid enough?"

Kent glanced at the still form of Nihlus. If no one had noticed the shortage then no one in the field had suffered from Cole's crime. On the other hand, they would definitely need his testimony on Nihlus' murder. Kent decided he would make some discreet inquiries and confirm that none of the marines had died from a weapons shortage. "Tell the investigators everything you saw about the Turian's murder. Don't leave anything out and don't make anything up."

"Commander!?" hissed Williams.

"I'm giving you the chance to do the right thing. Don't waste it, Cole."

Cole was immensely relieved. "I'll tell them everything. I swear. Can I get out of here?"

"Did you see what happened to the Prothean Beacon?" asked Alenko. Kent and Williams both started. They had completely forgotten to ask.

"That thing they were digging up? The robots loaded it onto the tram. They must have taken it to the spaceport."

Kent waved Cole off. "Get to the science camp. You'll be safe there."

"Yeah, thanks," said Cole as he rushed off. Williams had the discipline to wait until Cole was well out of earshot before she rounded on the commander.

"You're just going to let him walk?"

"No. If anyone died today because of the smuggling I'll give the Alliance all their confessions," Kent displayed a pair of recordings on his omnitool. "But we _need_ his testimony."

"I, you're right, of course, sir. I just feel so betrayed." Kent patted her on the shoulder as he walked back to the crime scene.

"Oracle, extrapolate shooter's position. Use model: Turian, Male." A featureless turian model appeared behind the model of Nihlus. The gun was placed three centimeters away from Nihlus' head. Well within the spectre's shields. The Turian and shot him was also quite tall.

" _Ballistic match acquired. The murder weapon is an Armax Arsenal Taelios. It is currently only available on Palaven to members of Turian Spec Ops groups._ "

"Cross reference the shooter's height and access to the gun with the name Saren."

" _Processing._ "

"We'll have our suspect soon enough," Kent told his team as the drones shut down their holo crime scene and flew back into his suit's minifacturing supply. "Now we need to take the tram to the spaceport." The tram was a basic open-air mag-lev train. The rear three were empty flatbed cargo carriers. The front two were passenger carriers. And they were full of Geth.

Kent's left hand whipped to his side then up. His pistol had just finished extending when he began firing. "Take cover," he ordered automatically. Williams was moving even before he began firing. Alenko had activated a Barrier and was moving to join Williams.

Kent leapt forward, clearing one car and landing behind the front wall of the car in front of that. He took a few glancing hits. It seemed that AI were not as disconcerted by obviously superhuman feats as organics were. Williams and Alenko had actually stopped shooting.

" _Move up you two_ ," said Kent as he lay a field of suppressing fire with his assault rifle. Williams was the first to join him. She had her sniper rifle out.

"God damn, Commander. A little warning next time."

"Get used to it quick, Williams. We have machines to break."

" _Commander, the big red one is charging down the middle,_ " Alenko calmly reported. He was ducked down on the other side of the empty center aisle. Kent glanced toward the front of the train. A seven foot tall Geth painted in red with an antenna sticking out of its right shoulder was running toward them, not even bothering to fire the large cannon in its hands.

"I got it," said Kent before he turned a smirk on Williams. "Little warning." He could feel Willams' glare as he boldly stepped out into the center aisle. The red Geth lowered its shoulder, aiming to run right over him. Kent waited until it was in range then lashed out with a lunging right cross. The Geth nearly exploded as his punch sent it rocketing back the way it came, trailing bits and pieces of itself along its flight path. It crashed in the middle of the nearest passenger car.

This time it was the Geth who stopped and turned to stare at their fallen comrade. It seemed an artificial intelligence _could_ be surprised by superhuman feats.

Alenko wasted no time in vaulting his cover and charging forward. He hit a pair of clustered Geth with an Overload. Their shields fell, leaving them vulnerable to his follow up Pull. Kent pegged one with an explosive discus. The detonation destroyed one and slammed the other against the rock wall alongside the tracks of the tram.

Williams was a step behind. She lobbed three grenades into the rear group of Geth. Her attack left behind a car full of mangled seating. Together the three of them gunned down the three stragglers. Williams led them to the controls and activated the tram.

"Thanks for the warning," said Williams sarcastically as the tram sped toward the spaceport. She glanced down at the crest on his suit. "Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"I'm not Superman, you know," said Kent seriously.

"Tell that to the Geth you punched."

Kent couldn't help the slight smirk on his face. "I have touch telekinesis. The power my Dad had before his Kryptonian abilities kicked in. I'm not at the level he was at either. I can't fly and I don't have superspeed."

Williams snorted. "You were still moving faster than I could, even with adrenaline. Can you do that LT?"

Alenko shook his head. "I can enhance my physical abilities with biotics but I can't punch a giant robot and send it flying ten meters."

"It was more like seven," protested Kent.

Alenko rolled his eyes. "Completely beside the point."

"Are you invulnerable?" asked Williams.

Kent shook his head. "I have what amounts to a skin tight kinetic barrier. It can protect me from a grenade to the face but it can still get worn down. It's why I still use cover, dodge, and why my suit has shields."

"So," drawled Williams, "how many grenades _can_ you take to the face?"

"Three," answered Kent immediately. "And even one grenade is not fun."

"Still three more than the rest of us."

"Actually, Williams, I can take two with my barrier up."

"Great," snarked Williams. "I'm the token normal."

Kent snorted. "So that just makes you Batman."

"What does that make me?" asked Alenko.

"The comic relief," retorted Kent.

"I'm dying of laughter here," said Alenko dryly.

"All right," drawled Kent in a resigned tone. "You can be the sidekick." Williams barked out a laugh at Alenko's look of disgust.

Kent grinned as he brought a hand to his ear. " _Normandy, do you copy?_ "

" _Normandy here,_ " responded Anderson.

" _We're on our way to the spaceport, following after the beacon. We found Nihlus, dead. A witness singled out a turian named Saren as the shooter._ "

" _Nihlus dead? By Saren?_ " asked Anderson intently.

" _I have all the evidence on my omnitool, including the eyewitness testimony._ "

" _I can't believe Saren was here,_ " murmured Anderson.

" _You know Saren sir?_ "

" _I know a Saren. Saren Arterius. He's a Spectre._ "

" _Crap,_ " cursed Kent.

" _Results compiled._ "

" _Let's hear it, Oracle._ "

" _One match for stated parameters: Saren Arterius._ "

" _What does that mean?_ " asked Anderson.

" _It means that this Saren is now the prime suspect in the murder of Nihlus._ "

" _Secure the beacon Commander. This mission is rapidly turning into a clusterfuck. And who's Williams?_ "

" _Survivor of the Two-Twelve. She's the only marine we found so far._ "

" _She's the only one in range,_ " reported Anderson soberly. " _The only live marines we've found are back at the garrison, defending the city proper. All others are KIA._ " Williams grimaced and shook her head.

" _She's a good soldier, sir._ "

" _Your team, your prerogative, Kent. And better she with you than on her own._ "

" _My thoughts exactly. We're coming up on the spaceport now._ "

" _Sensors show the spaceport is full of hostiles. Be careful._ "

" _Roger, ground team out._ " Kent turned to his team. "Stay sharp, we've got-" Kent stopped and stared at the large cylinder laid lengthwise on the ground. "What the fuck is that?" Then all three of them noticed the progress bar on a display decrease by one square.

"Bomb!" cried Williams.

"Alenko!"

"On it!"

"Oracle, scan and analyze!" There was a tense moment as Oracle scanned the bomb while Alenko quickly worked the cover off.

" _Object is a Turian nuclear device with a yield of three megatons._ " All three marines stiffened at the words nuclear. Alenko started working faster.

" _Ground team to Normandy, do you copy?_ " asked Kent quickly as Alenko's fingers danced across his omnitool. " _Oracle, upload scans to Normandy._ "

" _Normandy here,_ " answered Anderson.

" _We have a nuke groundside._ "

" _Son of a- Draven! Take this data and scan everything! Pressley, pass the word to command. Gladstone, tell the garrison._ "

"Done!" cried Alenko in triumph. Williams and Kent nearly sagged in relief.

" _Kent, there are four more in the spaceport!_ "

" _Shit. Give us nav points._ "

"It's not enough that they attacked the colony, they have to turn it into a radioactive crater too!" spat Williams.

"Upstairs," ordered Kent as four markers appeared. They ran across a bridge to the other side of the spaceport. They found another nuke as well as a charging group of Geth. "Williams, cover Alenko. I'll hit them from the far right." Kent leapt to the other side of the tram station, tossing an explosive discus mid jump to break up the enemy charge. Williams pinned the Geth down with her assault rifle, leaving them open to kent's sniper fire. The attacking Geth were destroyed almost at the same time as Alenko finished disarming the bomb.

"Done!"

" _Over here,_ " called Kent, " _I have the next one._ "

With their combined firepower, wave after wave of Geth were defeated. It was a stalling tactic at best. The Geth simply hadn't taken the destructive power of a metahuman and a vengeful marine into account in their strategy. They also hadn't planned on encountering resistance before they could finish transporting the bombs.

" _Are there any other bombs?_ "

" _Negative Kent. You stopped them all. Good work._ "

" _Yes, sir. Moving to secure the beacon now._ " Kent led the team down a ramp and into the spaceport proper. A group of zombies tried to ambush them but their moans gave them away. Alenko hit the massed group with a Pull. Kent and Williams blew them away with their shotguns. A squad of Geth tried to flank them but Kent cut their attack short by grabbing a shipping container and throwing it at them.

"Those things never stood a chance against you, sir."

"We make a good team Williams, don't sell yourself-"

" _Kent! You have incoming on a ballistic trajectory-_ " Kent missed the rest of the message as everyone present was knocked off their feet by a massive crash on the other side of the loading platform. " _Kent!_ "

" _Still here, sir,_ " said Kent as he picked himself up, " _Whatever it was it wasn't a mortar._ "

" _What was it?_ "

" _I don't-_ " Kent felt the words die in his throat. He stared speechless as a four meter tall Geth unfolded itself from a tight crouch. It was painted a gleaming white, with a thick body. Two large antenna's shot out from its shoulders. On its torso were three dots in a V shape connected by two jagged lines. The symbol and the oculus on the Geth began to glow an angry red as the Geth reached its full height. Its head turned and regarded Kent before focusing on Kent himself.

" _Scanning: Human/Kryptonian hybrid. Identity: Kent, Jonathan Achilles. Lieutenant Commander, Systems Alliance. You are a threat. You will be eliminated,_ " said the Geth in a monotonous electronic voice. It put its hands together. It's forearms transformed and locked together to form a large barrel. The interior began to glow red.

"Scramble!" yelled Kent as he took a step back. Alenko and Williams sought cover immediately. The Geth fired. A thick red beam lanced out and struck Kent's telekinetic force field. The energy spilled over the bubble Kent erected around himself cutting a half circle furrow around his feet. Kent grit his teeth. He didn't know how much longer he could sustain the bubble or how much damage the blast could do if it struck him directly.

The beam attack cut off as an overload splashed against the Geth. The Geth unformed its weapon. Its right hand became a blaster aimed at Alenko. There was a boom and the Geth stepped back. Williams had her sniper rifle resting on top of a small crate. It turned to her before stopping and snatching Kent's discus before it could strike its head. The Geth tossed the discus aside and the explosion washed harmlessly over it.

Williams fired again. The Geth's shields still held. The tips of its thick antennas transformed into blasters that swiveled and fired at both Williams and Alenko. The beams flew over their cover harmlessly, although Williams was forced to abandon her sniper rifle.

Kent surged forward. The Geth turned to him. It's hand turned blaster changed configuration, now resembling a satellite dish. Kent jinked hard to the side as it fired.

He wasn't expecting a sonic attack.

The pain was crippling. Kent fell to the floor as the Geth kept its blaster turned on him. It fired its small lasers to keep the other two marines from interfering. Alenko racked his brain for a way to help the Commander. Williams chose the direct approach and ate a laser to toss a grenade. The blast knocked Kent off his hands and knees and sent him awkwardly to the side.

Alenko popped out of cover. Williams was down. The Commander was down. But the white Geth now had scorch marks all over its front. He fired his strongest throw. His biotic attack sent the Geth flying over one of the last intact shipping containers.

Kent rose to his feet. The right side of his face felt sunburnt. An odd idea for a Kryptonian but there it was. He'd finally managed to recover his equilibrium after the grenade blast knocked him aside.

"You okay, Commander?" asked Alenko as he moved up to him.

Kent nodded. "Williams?"

"I'm alright." The two men turned toward Williams. She was walking up to them, assault rifle in hand. There was a large scorch mark on her armor's chest plate.

"Damage?" asked Alenko.

"Laser knocked out my shields and scuffed my armor is all. That giant Geth down?" There was a groan of metal. The last shipping container rose into the air, revealing the white Geth pressing it over its head. Kent recovered first and threw a pair of discus into the Geth's torso. Alenko and Williams followed up with a Warp and a barrage of bullets. The Geth launched the shipping crate just as the first attack struck him.

Kent pushed his teammates away with a blast of TK. Both marines slid on their armored backs. They stopped in time to see Kent catch the container. The Geth was blown back. William's attack broke his newly regenerating shields. Alenko's warp weakened the Geth's armor and detonated the two explosive discs Kent had embedded in its torso.

It lurched clumsily to its feet.

With a yell Kent threw the shipping container like a spear. It plowed into the Geth, bouncing and flipping until it struck the far wall. The Geth lay in pieces, nearly embedded into the floor. The three marines regrouped, each staring warily at the Geth's fallen form.

"I'm not saying it this time," said Williams suddenly. Kent gave a small laugh.

"It does look deactivated," said Alenko as he readied an Overload. "Should I?" Kent nodded. The remains didn't react to the attack. The three marines finally allowed themselves to relax. Kent raised a hand to his ear.

" _Normandy, this is Ground Team. All hostiles down._ "

" _Is everyone alright?_ "

" _We're fine. The Beacon is secure._ "

" _We're moving to make the pick-up. ETA: six minutes._ "

Williams had moved closer to the beacon while Kent had been reporting to the Normandy. The Prothean Beacon was a black monolith with the edges bordered in red. There was a series of interconnected geometric shapes on its surface that glowed with a golden light. A slight, high-pitched hum was emanating from the tall block.

"It wasn't doing anything like that before," she said as she edged closer. There was a sharp ping followed by a thump that all three marines felt in their chests. The Beacon glowed brightly and Williams found herself being pulled forward. Kent was on her in an instant and tossed her away only to find himself pulled up and toward the beacon.

"Commander!" yelled Williams as she moved to help Kent. Alenko held her back, anchoring them both in place with their biotics.

"No! It's too dangerous!"

Kent once again cursed the fact that he couldn't fly as he floated helplessly in front of the beacon. As he was pulled closer the pinging returned, increasing in tempo. There was a flash that went off behind his eyes.

Death. Dying. Destruction.

Burning. Pain. Rage.

Metal in flesh. Metal within flesh.

Despair. Anguish.

The land is cracked. The sky bleeds. The stars are blotted.

Darkness. Eclipse. Monsters from beyond.

The end of all things. The end of all. The end.


	3. The Council

**Chapter 3 - The Council**

Kent awoke with a start. He was on a bed. Several bright lamps were arranged around him, producing sunlight. They automatically retracted as Kent sat up. He was vaguely aware of a female voice calling for a doctor.

"Finally, you're awake," said Doctor Chakwas, the Normandy's chief medical officer. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she scanned him with her omnitool.

"Head feels full." Kent shook his head to clear it. "What happened?"

"You pulled me away from the beacon," said Williams, surprising Kent with her presence. "This light came out of it and latched onto your head. Then there was a flash and you were on the ground. The beacon was in pieces. It crumbled into dust when they tried to get the pieces onboard."

"You brought me back to the Normandy." Williams nodded. "Thanks." Williams blushed and smiled. She looked down and her blush increased dramatically before she turned around completely.

"The captain said he wanted to know when you were awake," Williams said quickly. "I'll be in the mess if you need me." Kent couldn't help but stare after her. It almost felt like she was running away. Kent glanced down and realized he was in his underwear.

"Kent, I- Good God man, put some clothes on. You'll make the men feel inadequate running around like that."

"I'm sure the women will appreciate the view," said Doctor Chakwas with a smile that made Kent blush. He was extremely grateful for his nanosuit when it covered him with a thought.

"Stop teasing the man, Doctor," chided Anderson with a smile, "and tell me how he's doing."

"Physically he's fine." The Doctor brought up a projection of several waves and graphs. "Mentally, you were asleep for five days. The entire time you were unresponsive to outside stimuli, until I used the Solar Array. While you were under you exhibited several signs typical of dreaming states."

"I saw," began Kent before tailing off. He remembered a jumble of images and emotions that he couldn't really describe. "I'm not sure what I saw. Synthetics, Geth maybe, killing organics. Exterminating them. It was a warning. I remember one word. Reapers."

"Reapers? Could be anything," groused Anderson.

Kent shrugged helplessly. "I think the information in the beacon was meant for direct neural download. Something went wrong though. Maybe it reacted negatively to my Kryptonian side?"

"It's all speculation with the Beacon gone." Anderson shook his head and huffed. "I still can't believe Saren is involved in all this."

"How do you know him, sir?"

Anderson hesitated. "I met him, years ago. He hates humans. I wouldn't be surprised if he led the attack. Although, I can't imagine how he got the Geth to work with him."

Kent grimaced. "About the Geth…"

"What is it, Commander?"

"The last one we fought, the one that launched itself like a mortar?"

"Yes, Alenko and Williams told me about your fight."

"It was wearing Braniac's symbol."

"Braniacs?" It took a moment for Anderson to place the name. As Kent's CO, Anderson had familiarized himself with the Kent's family history. Their exploits and their enemies. His eyes widened in surprise. "The rogue Kryptonian AI? But I thought your Father destroyed him for good?"

"He did. I have no idea why the Geth was wearing that symbol. It was also the only one that spoke to us."

"That's," Anderson reached for the proper word, "disturbing. By itself Braniac nearly caused a technological apocalypse. If it joined itself with the Geth…"

"Bad news all around. The attack on Eden prime could be part of a greater plan."

"We'll put everything in our report. Send it off to the League. This might be too much for the Alliance to handle alone."

"Understood."

"If you're cleared for duty," both men turned to Doctor Chakwas, who nodded, "go up to the bridge. Joker's bringing us in to the Citadel."

"If we're away from Eden Prime, why is Williams still aboard?"

"I had her assigned to the Normandy."

"She's a good soldier, sir."

"No doubt. She was able to keep pace with you and Alenko. Now let the crew see you're alright. They could use the good news."

Kent frowned. "About Jenkins-"

"You did all you could Kent. Jenkins knew the risks and so do you. No one could've predicted the Geth would be attacking."

"Still don't like it," grumbled Kent as he followed Anderson out of the med-bay.

"None of us do. I know the mission turned to shit, but you saved the colony and the Geth didn't make off with the Beacon. And we have a lead on Nihlus' killer. You did better than anyone has a right to expect of you."

"Yes, sir." Kent spotted Williams standing around the mess and made his way over. "I hear you've been transferred," he said without preamble.

"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous about it. Captain Anderson is a legend in the Alliance. And I've never met someone with a Star of Terra before. Much less two."

"Still but my pants on one leg at a time," said Kent lightly as he tried to hide his grimace.

"Not a big fan of fame?" she asked with an arched brow. Kent shook his head vigorously, making her laugh. "I guess it's not all it's cracked up to be?"

Kent shrugged. "I put up with it. And you shouldn't be nervous. You're a good soldier. I'm glad to have you on the team." Kent smirked. "When you're not busy gawking…"

"Hey! I've never worked with a meta before! It's not like I see people catching ten ton shipping containers with their bare hands."

They shared a brief laugh. "Seriously, don't be nervous. The Captain wouldn't have requested your transfer if he didn't think you had what it takes."

"Thanks, Commander. And thanks for saving my life back there."

"Don't worry about it. Your grenade saved my life. Besides, it's all part of being in the Alliance. I don't keep score with comrades."

"True 'nough. You heading up to the bridge?"

"Yeah, I hear we're heading into the Citadel?"

Williams nodded. "I've never been. Should be interesting."

"Come up with me. We'll watch from the cockpit." Williams smiled and followed Kent to the bridge.

"Hey, Commander, you're up! Here to see your tax dollars at work?" asked Joker.

"Actually, as a member of the Justice League, I don't pay taxes."

"That's so not fair," grumbled Joker.

"Look at it this way: You can pay your taxes or volunteer for the life threatening missions. And every other high-risk mission you can make it to."

"Uh, I think I'll pass. Thanks."

"What are you looking at, Commander?" asked Williams.

Kent turned away from the bulkhead. "Widow, the system's star, is over that way."

Williams frowned. Kent had been looking at a wall and not one of the viewing ports. "How can you tell?"

"It's a Kryptonian thing. I can always tell where the nearest star is. Don't know why though. I don't seem to absorb sunlight."

"Has that ever come in handy?" Kent snorted and shook his head. Williams smiled and turned back to the viewport. "Look at the size of that ship!"

"The Destiny Ascension," said Alenko from the co-pilot's seat, "Flagship of the Citadel fleet."

"Well, size isn't everything."

"Why so touchy, Joker?" teased Williams.

"I'm just saying you need fire power too," said Joker defensively.

"Look at that monster! It's main gun could rip through the shields of any ship in the Alliance fleet."

"Good thing it's on our side then," said Alenko. He slid a screen from his interface over to Joker's.

"Citadel control," said Joker after activating the screen, "this is SSV Normandy requesting permission to land."

"SSV Normandy, this is Citadel Control. Please wait for clearance."

"Hope the queues not long," said Kent.

"Nah," said Joker, "they just need to make sure we are who we say we are."

"Normandy, permission granted. Transferring you to an Alliance tower." Joker motioned to the comm screen and turned an arch look on Kent, who rolled his eyes.

"Roger that Citadel Control."

"Normandy, this is Alliance Tower. Please proceed to berth 442." A new screen appeared on Joker's console that Kent recognized as navigation info.

"Alliance Tower, proceeding to berth 442."

"Copy. Will you be needing transport?"

"Captain Anderson requests a car for four to the Embassy."

"Roger. A car will meet you outside the berth once docking is complete."

"Copy," Joker made a few adjustments to his controls. "And," he drawled, "done!"

"Hope you guys didn't pay too much for the express service," teased Williams.

"Ha ha," said Joker dryly.

Kent smiled and stepped over to an intercom. "Captain, we are locked on approach to dock."

"Good. Get the ground team from Eden Prime. I'm sure the Ambassador at least will have some questions."

"Dress Blues, sir?"

"Yes. And wear all your accessories. Show the Council exactly who they're dealing with."

"Yes, sir," Kent unclicked the intercom. "You heard the man. Make yourselves pretty. We have a song and dance to put on."

"Ugh, I hate skirts," grumbled Williams. Almost simultaneously three pairs of eyes settled on her uniformed legs. "Eyes up, gentlemen," deadpanned Williams. Alenko and Joker immediately looked up. Williams cleared her throat.

"You said gentlemen so I assumed you weren't talking to me." Joker snickered.

"What _did_ those sexual harrasment regs say again?" Williams mused fecetiously.

Kent shrugged. "Something about equal treatment." He cocked his head. "In which case, considering what happened earlier, shouldn't you be in your underwear?" Joker and Alenko turned to the lieutenant commander in shock then turned to Williams in greater shock when Williams blushed furiously.

"Okay, when was this?" asked Joker.

"She was peeping on me."

"I was not!" denied Williams vehemently.

"I distinctly remember you already being in the medbay when I woke up. Where I had been sleeping. In my underwear. Without a blanket."

"I, you," Williams let out a frustrated growl at Kent's smirk. "I'm going to get ready," she said as she stalked out of the bridge.

"Can I join you?" called out Kent. A single finger was his response.

The Normandy flew through the gas cloud of the Serpent Nebula, heading for the Citadel. The Citadel was a massive structure. A five pronged space station that housed almost a hundred million sentient beings. It was the center of Galactic government. VI assisted controls helped keep the Citadel's heavy space traffic in order. The Normandy gracefully flew through the crowded space under Joker's watchful eye. Eventually it settled gently in an Alliance berth, magnetic docking clamps holding it in place. A cab was waiting for them as they disembarked. A short trip later found them at the Human embassy, entering Udina's office.

"Anderson, I see you've-" Ambassador Donnel Udina stopped in his tracks. Anderson had led Kent, Alenko and Williams into the Ambassador's office. Kent had come in last. While all three men looked impressive in their Alliance Dress uniforms, and Williams looked quite fetching in her skirt, Kent had three additions to his suit that would give anyone pause.

The first was the red cape attached to the lapels of his jacket. The second was a red sash with white borders worn across his torso. The Systems Alliance sigil was pinned on the sash near his right shoulder. The Crest of El was under that, followed by the Laurel of Themyscira. His two Stars of Terra hung above numerous service medals on his left breast. Then there was the sword that hung off the sash. It was sheathed in a white scabbard crisscrossed with gold filament.

"-you've brought your whole crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime. In case you had any questions," replied Anderson easily.

"I've read the mission reports," snapped Udina. "I assume they're accurate?" he asked sarcastically. He turned to Kent. "Nihlus dead. The Beacon destroyed. You've put your candidacy in the Spectres in jeopardy."

"That isn't his fault. It's Saren's," protested Anderson.

"I would think that would be secondary to the rogue Spectre and the attack on the colony," said Kent.

Udina shot him a look. "Relax, I'm merely presenting the view of the council. They've launched an investigation into Saren. Anderson, I'll need your help collating our findings to present to the council." Udina turned a calculating look at Kent. "Meet us at the Council Chamber in an hour, Commander," he ordered before leaving.

"And that's why I hate politicians," muttered Williams once the door closed.

The team played tourists for a short while. The Presidium was the center ring of the citadel. It was built in gleaming white with an artificial sky and numerous parks and lakes. The design was open and airy, despite being a fully enclosed station. The Council tower, the seat of galactic government, jutted out into space from the center of the station. The council chamber itself was a massive hall. The floor was split into three levels. A large flight of stairs led from one level to the next. It was at the top of the first flight of stairs that the three marines found two turians arguing loudly with one another.

"Saren's dirty! I know he is! I just need more time to finish my investigation. Stall the council," pleaded the turian in blue C-Sec armor.

"Stall the council? Don't be absurd. Your investigation is closed, Vakarian," said the other turian dismissively before walking away. He was wearing an elaborate blue and red uniform. Vakarian kicked the ground in disgust. He glanced at the three humans, before doing a double take.

"Commander Kent?" Kent stopped and nodded. "Garrus Vakarian, Citadel Security. I was the officer in charge of the Saren investigation."

"Who was that?" asked Kent with a tilt of his head.

"Executor Pallin," the detective grimaced, "my boss."

"What happened with your investigation?"

"I couldn't find anything concrete. Saren's a Spectre, everything he touches is classified. But there are patterns in the data."

"What patterns?"

"Almost everywhere he goes, he leaves behind bodies. Lots of bodies. I couldn't get access to his assignments but for most of his movements that I could track disaster struck."

"You think he's responsible?"

"He either has the worst timing I've ever seen or he's the cause. In any case, he drops out of sight right before the attack on Eden Prime. He's got no alibi."

" _Kent, the hearing's started,_ " commed Anderson over Kent's omnitool.

"I should go."

"Good luck, Commander. Maybe the Council will listen to you."

Kent hurried past a fountain and the orchard on the second level. Captain Anderson was waiting in the middle of the stairs to the third and final level.

"Good. Udina's finishing our presentation." As Kent crested the stairs he saw Udina standing at the railing of a circular platform suspended above a glass enclosed garden. Across the gap was a balcony with the three members of the council: the turian Sparatus, the asari Tevos, and the salarian Valern. On their right was a massive holo of a turian. He was powerfully built, with a cybernetic left arm and an elongated head crest.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern," said Councilor Tevos, "but there is no evidence suggesting Saren's involvement."

"An eyewitness saw him murder Nihlus in cold blood," said Udina.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports. The testimony of a traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof," countered Councilor Valern.

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend," declared Saren.

"That just let you catch him off guard!" interjected Anderson.

"Ah, Captain Anderson," said Saren patronizingly, "you always seem to be involved when humanity makes _false_ accusation against me." His gaze shifted to Kent. "And this must be your protege. Is it safe to have it in the Council's presence? I hope you humans have trained your pet well."

"Does the council usually condone such bigotry in its agents?" asked Kent.

"You destroyed a functioning Prothean Beacon and allowed a Spectre to be killed. But what can you expect from someone below even a _human_."

"Your hatred of Humanity betrays your motives," said Kent calmly.

"Humanity needs to be shown its place. You are not ready for a seat on the council. You're not even ready for the Spectres."

"That is not his decision," interjected Udina, "he has no say in the matter."

"Commander Kent's induction into the Spectres is not the point of this hearing," Tevos chided Saren gently.

"This meeting has no point," said Saren dismissively. "They're wasting your time. And mine."

"Do you have any further evidence to report?"

"Has C-Sec found another suspect in the murder of Nihlus?" asked a frowning Kent.

"We cannot convict on unreliable testimony," declared Councilor Sparatus.

"The only things we need from Cole's testimony is the fact that Nihlus' killer was a turian and Nihlus called him Saren."

"You expect us to cast judgement based on that?" asked Sparatus incredulously.

"No," said Kent, "I expect you to convict on that and the forensic evidence gathered on scene." Kent waved his omnitool and a holographic representation appeared in front of the supplicants platform.

"I'm sure you're an excellent soldier, Commander. But detective work requires professional training," said Valern.

"We cannot accept the work of an amateur into evidence," said Sparatus, who was practically sneering at them. The humans glanced at each other. Anderson, Alenko and Williams burst into laughter. Udina and Kent mastered their mirth, although Kent was openly grinning.

"I fail to see the humor in the situation," chided Tevos.

"That's not the only thing," muttered Kent through his teeth.

Udina cleared his throat loudly. "Councilors, do not the Citadel Conventions allow for the interspecies sharing of evidence?"

"Yes but they must come from a recognized law enforcement agency," countered Valern.

"Is not the UEG Police such a recognized agency?"

"Yes," drawled Tevos.

"Commander Kent is one of the most highly trained detectives registered with the UEG," declared Udina smugly. "Any evidence he presents is official UEG evidence, recognized by the Systems Alliance and permissible under the Citadel's own conventions."

An intrepid photographer managed to take a holo of the council staring in shock. It made him very wealthy.

"We will need time to review this evidence," temporized Sparatus.

"We submitted Kent's findings with our brief," said Udina, a frown on his face. The Councilors glanced at each other.

"I can present the evidence now," said Kent as he waved at the holographic display, giving the Council an out.

"I object!" said Saren as he glared at Kent.

"On what grounds?" asked Udina.

"This is a farce!" snarled Saren, "this thing is now a detective?"

"Yes," answered Valern, to everyone's surprise. "I have his records here. He graduated top of his class in less than a year. And he has seventeen cases closed with a perfect conviction record. In five of those cases he cleared the prime suspect of manufactured charges and discovered the true perpetrator."

"Kent's record speaks for itself," said Anderson. "Now, if there are no _real_ objections.."

Tevos and Valern shared a glance then turned to Sparatus, who was perusing the records. He caught the other Councilor's stares and nodded reluctantly. "Please proceed, Commander," said Tevos.

"My team and I found the victim, Nihlus Kurik, at 17:48 local time," began Kent. "Coroner scan put time of death at 17:28. Cause of death was a single shot to the back of the victim's head. The victim's kinetic barriers have no record of an impact at or near the time of death. I recovered the bullet here." Kent pointed at the nearby shipping crate with a hole circled in bright green. A green line extended from the center of the hole. "This is the trajectory of the bullet."

"Where his shields deactivated?" asked Valern.

Kent shook his head. "No, his shields were still active when we found him and had been since our deployment."

"If that was so…" muttered Tevos.

"Nihlus was shot _inside_ of his kinetic barriers. Using that, the ballistic information and the forensic data, puts Nihlus here," a featureless holo of a turian, standing casually, holding a rifle appeared, "and the shooter here," a blank humanoid, holding a gun at the back of Nihlus' head appeared. "Cole's testimony gives us his species." A featureless turian holo took the place of the humanoid. "And now we have the height for the killer."

"And the murder weapon? You seem certain it was a pistol," said Tevos.

"The murder weapon is an Armax Arsenal Taelios. A pistol currently only available to Turian Special Ops agents."

"How can you be sure?" asked Sparatus doubtfully.

"Do I really need to explain the field of ballistics to you, Councilor?" asked Kent calmly. Sparatus' mandibles flared in a way Kent was beginning to recognize meant anger.

"No, your analysis is sufficient," said Tevos as she looked at Sparatus. He nodded.

"I then ran a search for anyone that matched species, height, weapon, and name. There was only one match. Saren Arterius."

"Preposterous. I'm sure there are many who could match the killer if you didn't use my name and species," declared Saren. "Who's to say Nihlus' murderer wasn't human. Perhaps this Cole?"

Kent interjected before the Councilor's could agree with Saren. "I'll be the first to admit that Cole's testimony is not the most reliable. However, there are two more pieces of damning evidence."

"Something you've hidden up your sleeve?" insinuated Saren.

"Not at all," disagreed Kent calmly. "The first is the murder weapon. Every Taelios manufactured is accounted for by the Turian Hierarchy. They are _all_ in turian hands. The second is the victim himself. Tell me Councilors, what was Nihlus doing when he died?"

"Isn't that a question you should answer, Kent?" threw back Sparatus. Telos and Valern looked down and examined the holo.

"He's looking away!" exclaimed Valern, making Sparatus snap toward him and then back to the holo.

"Exactly. Nihlus' killer was standing behind him while he was not on guard. He was on a battlefield with his back to someone and ready for combat. The Geth would have attacked at range. And with Nihlus' sensor suite it would have been impossible for anyone to sneak up on him. Nihlus knew and trusted his killer. That's the only explanation." Kent turned away from the stunned Council to a visibly seething Saren. "I think Captain Anderson was accurate in his earlier accusation."

"Your analysis certainly sounds impressive," ground out Saren. He turned to face something to his left. Then he blinked and grinned. "But you have failed in establishing the two fundamental points of any murderer. Opportunity and motive. My ship has been docked on Taetrus for the past week. It's where I'm reporting from right now. And why would I kill my friend? Stabbing someone in the back may be a custom among Humans but we Turians have more honor than that."

"Can you answer either of those questions?" asked Sparatus, a predatory gleam in his eye.

"Saren is not his ship. His ship being docked there could just mean he left it behind."

"And his motive?" asked Valern intently.

"To cover up his involvement with the attack on Eden Prime."

"Which you only assume because you believe I was on the planet during the attack, something that you can't prove."

"Do you have any further evidence, Commander?" asked Tevos.

Kent gritted his teeth. "Not at this time."

Tevos closed her eyes for a moment then glanced at her fellow councilors. Each shook their heads in turn. "It is the decision of this Council that there is not enough evidence to prove the charge of murder or the charge of treason. All charges against Spectre Agent Saren are dismissed."

"Give us time to find the evidence!" asked Udina.

Tevos shook her head. "Even if you could possibly find circumstantial evidence of a motive, there is still the matter of opportunity. Saren is one of our most trusted agents."

"This Council is not here to allow the pursuit of a human vendetta," said Sparatus dismissively. "I see no reason to continue this investigation."

"I agree," said Tevos. "This hearing, and this investigation, is adjourned."

"Thank you, Councilors. You have made a wise decision," stated Saren respectfully before his holo winked out. The five humans departed for the middle level of the Council Chamber.

"I can't believe you missed that, Kent," criticized Udina.

"I didn't," snapped Kent. "I deliberately avoided the topics because I knew we didn't have the evidence we needed. I was hoping to trip Saren up."

"I see," conceded Udina. "Unfortunate that your gambit failed."

"No," said Anderson, "I was watching Saren. He was sweating. He definitely killed Nihlus. We just need to prove why."

"I saw it too," added Alenko. "But if his ship has been docked in Turian space this whole time…"

"We need to link Saren to the Geth attack," said Kent. "It's the only way to prove both motive and opportunity at the same time. It's also the only lead we have."

"I have some contacts-" began Anderson.

"No," interrupted Udina, "it was a mistake bringing you into the hearing. The Council used your past with Saren against us. Any evidence you collect will be stained with the same taint."

"You're cutting him out of the investigation?" asked Kent with a hint of anger.

"He's right," said Anderson, stunning the marines into silence. "This is your show, Kent. I'll do more good if I step aside."

"Still don't like this." Kent took a breath. "You said you had contacts?"

"Speak with Barla Von. You'll find him on the Presidium. He's a known agent of the Shadow Broker."

"There was also that Turian cop, Garrus something," suggested Alenko.

"Vakarian. He was asking for a little more time," mused Kent.

"If you need to find him you can ask Harkin," said Udina.

Anderson scowled at Udina. "You're sending him to talk to that waste of space?"

"I will admit that he is an unsavory-"

"Harkin's an ass and you know it. First Human accepted into C-Sec and he turns out to be a dirty cop."

Udina grimaced at Anderson's words. "Regardless, Harkin will connect you with this Turian."

"Where do we find him?" asked Kent.

Udina looked extremely uncomfortable and pulled at his jacket's collar. "Chora's Den." Anderson snorted.

"A bar. A dive bar," said Anderson. "What's he doing there? Besides getting drunk."

"He was suspended indefinitely." The others stared at Udina. He finally sighed and elaborated. "He was caught taking bribes. Again. For the twelfth time."

"You'd think a cop could figure out how not to get caught," said Williams.

"We'll talk to Barla Von then hit up Harkin," said Kent as he turned to go. "You guys are with me."

"Do we have time to stop by the Normandy?" asked Williams hopefully.

"Don't worry, Williams," responded Kent with a grin. "I doubt we'll need our assault weapons for this."

"I was talking about the skirt," said Williams as she narrowed her eyes at Kent.

"Let's talk to Barla Von and Harkin first. See what we can dig up."

They found Barla Von in the Financial district of the Presidium. He'd been expecting them. The Shadow Broker, the galaxy's most infamous information broker, had taken an interest in Kent's investigation. The Shadow Broker did not take betrayal lightly and wanted Saren brought down. A mercenary by the name of Urdnot Wrex had been dispatched to bring down Fist, a crime boss that had sided with Saren. A sky car quickly set them down near Chora's Den.

"A million miles from home and we walk into a bar full of drunk men staring at half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage."

"Is this a strip bar?" asked Kent as he looked around.

"What was your first clue?" asked Williams sarcastically.

"Huh," murmured Kent, "so this is what it's like."

Alenko turned to Kent in surprise. "You've never been to a strip bar?" Kent shook his head. "Why not?" Alenko ignored the dirty look Williams shot him.

"Why would I? I grew up on an island full of beautiful women who wear togas casually and frequently train and play sports in the nude."

"So you're immune to beautiful women?" asked Williams with a cocked brow and hip. Alenko grumbled under his breath sourly.

Kent snorted. "Maybe when I'm dead." He walked up to a server at the bar. A pretty young woman wearing more clothes than any other in the bar except for Williams. "I'm looking for a Human called Harkin." She pointed them to a balding man sitting in the back, wearing a crumpled C-Sec uniform. As the trio approached, Harkin looked up from his drink. His eyes almost immediately went to Williams' legs and stayed there.

"Well there you are," drawled Harkin once they were close enough to be heard over the pumping music. He patted his lap. "Why don't you climb on up here and keep me company," he told Williams' legs.

"Sure," said Kent brightly.

"Huh?" muttered Harkin as he turned up, and up, and up to the looming bulk of Kent. "Hey, I don't swing that way," he said weakly.

"Well then," said Kent cheerfully, "let's see how you do swing." He grabbed Harking by the knee and dangled him upside down.

"Hey- oof!" Kent began swinging Harking back and forth, banging him into the table he had previously been sitting at with each swing. The Krogan bouncer came over only to have Alenko and Williams point their sidearms at him.

"Alliance business. Nothing for you to worry about," said Alenko calmy. Behind them, Kent tossed Harkin almost into the ceiling. With one hand. The bouncer nodded and walked away. Kent plopped Harkin onto the table.

"Jesus Christ, what do you want?" blurted out a red-faced Harkin.

"First, you're going to apologize to my crew for being a waste of space. Second, you're going to tell me where I can find a C-Sec officer named Garrus Vakarian."

"Fine! Garrus was headed to Doctor Michel's office. She runs a clinic near the C-Sec headquarters on this ward." Kent frowned and reached for Harkin, who flinched away as far as he could and still stay on the tabletop. "And I'm sorry I'm a waste of space!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," said Kent dryly before turning on his heel and leading his team out. Harkin waited until the door closed behind them before getting up and ordering the strongest drink the bar had available that wasn't poisonous to humans.

"Did any candy come out?" asked Williams cheekily.

"Not even a loose credit."

Williams snapped her fingers. "Damn."

"I'll let you hit him next time. Maybe that'll do the trick."

"You promise?"

"Dr. Michel's clinic is right next to the cab stop," said Alenko as he manipulated his omnitool. "A skycar'll take us right to it."

Another moment's travel found them walking into Dr. Michel's clinic. The reception area had several chairs and a short hallway in the back corner that led to a large treatment room with several beds separated by curtains. Between the Hall and the treatment rooms was a waist high wall. Edging over to the furthest end, near where Dr. Michel was standing was the Turian C-Sec officer they were looking for.

"I swear I didn't tell Garrus anything!" pleaded a female voice as Kent walked into the short hall.

"That was smart doc," a thug told Dr. Michel threateningly. "If Garrus comes around you stay smart." Garrus looked over at Kent as the three marines walked in. Kent glanced over at Dr. Michel. The officer nodded and moved down.

"I will!" Kent motioned Williams and Alenko to move down the hall and hit the thugs from the side. There were five men in between them and the doctor.

"You do what Fist says and-" Kent had snuck up on the rearmost thug and thrown him over the rest and face first into the far wall. Everyone stared in shock at the crumpled form of the formerly ballistic thug. Fist's men recovered and spun toward Kent.

"Now!" yelled Kent as he kicked the next closest thug. The thug bounced off the ceiling and landed with a thud on the floor, where he lay still. Williams double tapped the thug closest to her. Alenko hit the thug behind that with a Throw, nearly wrapping him around one of the exam tables. The thug closest to Dr. Michel spun to grab her only to take a bullet to the forehead.

"Clear," called out Kent as he automatically checked on his prone victim. He looked up when he heard one more answering call than he expected.

Garrus nodded at him. "You pack a hell of a kick, Commander," he said with a glance at the slight depression in the ceiling.

"You pack a hell of a shot, Officer Vakarian."

"Garrus, please, Commander. People say Officer Vakarian and I start looking for my father."

"Call me Kent. Or Jonathan, John, Achilles," Kent tilted his head in thought, "they also call me 'Oh shit, it's him! Run!' but I don't really answer to that one."

Garrus chuckled and glanced at the thug Kent had thrown. "I can see why." He walked up to Dr. Michel. "Are you alright Doctor? Are you hurt?"

Dr. Michel was a pretty young woman with short red hair. She had a trace of a French accent when she spoke. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Thanks to all of you," she added as Williams and Alenko stepped into the room.

"What didn't they want you to tell Garrus?" asked Kent.

"A Quarian came to my clinic yesterday. She'd been shot. She wouldn't tell me any details but she did say she had information for the Shadow Broker. I put her in touch with Fist."

"Fist doesn't work for the Shadow Broker anymore. He works for Saren," said Garrus.

"Fist betrayed the Broker?" asked Dr. Michel in disbelief, "I didn't think he could be that stupid."

"This Quarian must have something on Saren if he's trying to cover her trail," said Alenko. He'd gotten a pair of cuffs from Garrus and was cuffing the thug Kent had kicked while Garrus cuffed the one Alenko had hit. They were the only two left alive. Kent's throw had clearly broken the other thug's neck.

"Then we need to find her. Fast," decided Kent. "Do you know where she is?"

Dr. Michel shook her head. "She went to talk to Fist."

"Then we go after Fist. Where do we find him?" asked Williams.

"Fist owns and operates out of Chora's Den," answered Garrus. "That's where we start."

"He runs that shit hole? I like him less already," said Williams. She snagged a dead thugs shotgun and started checking it over.

"We're not the only ones looking for Fist," said Garrus. "There's a bounty hunter, Urdnot Wrex. A Krogan."

Kent nodded. "Barla Von said the Shadow Broker sent him."

"We might need him if Fist has bunkered down in his club," suggested Garrus.

"We?" asked Williams warily.

"Take me with you Commander," asked Garrus, "I want to take down Saren as much as you do."

Kent nodded. "Do we have time to pick up the bounty hunter?" asked Kent as he pulled out his utility belt from the small of his back and buckled it over his jacket.

Garrus spared the belt a curious glance. His eyes then lingered on Kent's sword. "C-Sec brought him in for questioning after he made a threat too many outside Chora's Den. It'll also give me a chance to grab my rifles."

"Let's do it."

"Dr. Michel," said Garrus as he turned to the Doctor. "Stay here, a patrol is on its way to deal with this. Give them a statement and have them escort you home. I'll have a guard on you until we finish this."

"I will and thank you again."

It was a short elevator ride to C-Sec. Williams turned to Garrus. "Why does a Turian want to take down a Turian Spectre?"

"My investigation was stopped before I could find the evidence I needed but I know what was going on. Saren's dirty. He's a disgrace to the Spectre's and a disgrace to my people," Garrus almost snarled. "He needs to be taken down."

"It's that simple?" asked Williams skeptically.

"It's that simple."

They exited the elevator and immediately ran into Urdnot Wrex. A trio of heavily armed C-Sec officers were surrounding him. One of them was unsuccessfully trying to intimidate the Krogan.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him."

"I don't take orders from you." Very unsuccessfully.

"This is your only warning Wrex."

"You should warn Fist. I will kill him." Very, very unsuccessfully.

"Do you want me to arrest you?"

"I want to see you try," said Wrex through his chuckles. He turned and spotted Kent. He ignored the three C-Sec officers completely and walked up to Kent.

"Urdnot Wrex?" asked Kent as the large Krogan stepped up to him.

"Yeah, I'm Wrex," he answered as he looked Kent up and down. He paused at the insignia's on Kent's sash. "The Army Killer," he mumbled.

Kent frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Nevermind. What business do you have with me, Jonathan Kent?" Wrex asked as he glanced at Kent's companions.

"We share a goal. We're both going after Fist."

"We're both warriors so I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

"I need his info. You need his life. These aren't mutually exclusive."

"Hmm," thrummed Wrex as he stroked his plate. His eyes paused on the sword at Kent's side. They both turned as Garrus' omnitool beeped.

"Fist knows we're coming," said Garrus as he checked over the message. "A patrol just picked up _a lot_ of rowdy drunks outside Chora's Den. They were complaining about getting kicked out."

"Fist is turtling up. He can't stay there forever so something must be happening or will happen soon that will make going after him a moot point," mused Kent.

"Or he's expecting reinforcements," said Alenko.

"My people have a saying 'Seek the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend." Wrex extended a hand. Kent shook it, then grinned when Wrex squeezed. He squeezed back until he felt Wrex wince.

"So what happened to your guns?" Kent asked as Wrex discreetly flexed his hand.

"C-Sec confiscated them. Gave me a paper and said I could have them back when I leave the Citadel."

Kent turned to Garrus, who spoke up first. "Give me the ticket and I'll get them out of lockup." Wrex looked at Garrus' outstretched hand suspiciously. With a grunt, he slapped the ticket into the Turian's hand. Garrus jogged off without comment.

"Is working with a Turian going to be a problem?" asked Kent.

"As long as he keeps his distance."

"Not good enough," said Kent firmly. Wrex turned a gimlet eye on him. Kent ignored it. He'd been glared at by people who could literally set you on fire with a look. "We're about to head into combat. I need to trust you to be able to watch our backs and follow my orders."

Wrex glared at him a moment longer then nodded. "I'll follow you. But Fist is mine," he added with emphasis.

"You'll have him after we get the info we need. Now tell me what you can do."

"I'm a Krogan," answered Wrex bluntly.

"All that tells me is I have to hit you four times as hard to put you down," replied Kent nonchalantly. Wrex, Williams, and Alenko stared at Kent.

Wrex finally snorted. "I'm stronger and tougher than pretty much everyone else. I've been fighting for over a thousand years just about everywhere." A blue aura flared around him. "And I'm a biotic."

"A full-blown Battlemaster," said Kent, "very impressive." He glanced between Alenko and Williams. "Williams, Wrex is your battle-buddy." There was a brief moment of hesitation before Williams nodded.

"Battle-buddy?" questioned Wrex with a note of amusement.

"You'll watch each other's backs while fighting and work as a team."

"Don't worry Kent, I'll keep your female safe."

Kent snorted. "She's her own female."

"Damn straight. Now watch your mouth or I'll rip out your eye and stuff it down your throat so you can see if you're going to say something stupid again. And then you won't."

Wrex stared at the tense Williams who had extended her pilfered shotgun. He grinned. "We're gonna get along just fine."

Garrus' return stopped any further comment. He gave Wrex a sack containing his various weapons.

"Everyone ready?" asked Kent once Wrex was done harnessing his guns. Everyone nodded. "Let's go."


	4. Citadel Assault

**Chapter 4 - Citadel Assault**

Chora's Den was eerily silent as Kent and his newly expanded team walked up to the main entrance.

"Stack up," ordered Kent. Williams, Alenko and Garrus lined up on either side of the door. Wrex quickly joined Williams on the left. She looked down at her skirt in disgust.

"Here," she said as she pressed her shotgun into Wrex's chest. He cradled it automatically. Everyone stared at her as she reached down and tore her skirt open at the seam revealing a shapely expanse of thigh. "There! Now I can run in this thing," she said as she took her shotgun back. She noticed Kent's lingering eyes. "See something you like, sir?"

Kent blinked. "Focus," he replied. Williams merely smirked at him. "We need this door open."

"C-Sec has codes to override just about every door on the Citadel," said Garrus as he brought up his omni-tool. "Give me a moment." Alenko looked at Garrus in his C-Sec armor and then down at his own dress blues. He quickly switched places with him. Wrex cleared his throat. When Williams looked back at him he motioned to Garrus and Alenko.

"You're going to have to work for your kills, big guy," she told him with a smirk. "Try to keep up." Wrex barked out a laugh. The interface on the door turned green. Everyone instantly adopted professional demeanors. Kent glanced at his team. They nodded in turn. Kent unsheathed his sword with a bright ringing sound. He tapped the lock. The door slid open.

Kent burst through the doorway with a blood curdling battle cry. The thug on the other side of the door froze as a roaring man wielding a sword ran at him. The rest of Fist's men froze when the man sliced their friend in two, barrelled through the halves and leapt from the floor to the stage at the top of the bar. The sniper had a moment to scream before Kent landed on him with a horrible crunching sound.

Williams recovered first and rushed the right side of the circular bar, taking cover behind a nearby booth. Alenko and Garrus snapped off overloads and hit all three enemies on the left. Wrex wrapped himself in a biotic barrier and ran passed Williams, boldly absorbing fire and shooting _through_ cover. Garrus ran in next, Alenko right behind him. The three enemies on their side chose to take cover behind the same table. Alenko hit them all with a pull field, leaving them easy pickings for Garrus.

More enemies spilled out of the back. Williams pulled Wrex into one of the alcoves for private dances when his barrier faded. Wrex grumbled but nodded when she glared at him. Garrus and Alenko launched another twin overload attack while the thugs were still crowded near the door. All four of Kent's team stepped out of cover to hit the new wave of enemies when Kent landed in the middle of the group. There was a brief moment when everyone wondered what the hell Kent was doing.

Then the body parts started flying.

Within seconds all six enemies were dead. Kent was splattered in their blood. "Come on," he ordered as he stepped into the back. The rest of his team stared at the grisly scene then moved to follow him. A short corridor led into a storeroom lined with crates. Two men were standing behind a strategically placed crate.

"Don't come any-" Kent didn't break his stride as he summoned their guns right out of their trembling hands. He sliced the two pistols easily.

"Leave," he said firmly as he walked past them. The two warehouse workers tripped over themselves trying to run away. The door in the rear of the storehouse opened up into another hallway. Three men opened fire as Kent stepped in. He lunged forward and tossed a discus. The other two men made the mistake of stopping and staring at the discus buried in the third man's head. A sword swipe later the first two were missing their own heads.

"Leave some for us Kent," complained Wrex.

"I'll try," replied Kent. The team stepped through the door and into Fist's office. They were greeted by Fist and his two turrets.

"Die!" screamed Fist. Wrex summoned a barrier, grabbed Williams, and rushed over to a partition on the left side of the room. Garrus and Alenko dove behind a bar set up on the right side of the room. Kent stood his ground in the middle and raised a force field.

"What the hell?" Williams stared as a pile of rounds formed around Kent's feet. The strain of weathering the barrage from two emplaced guns was beginning to tell on Kent.

"Here," said Wrex as he pashed a grenade at her. She took it and stared at him. "I'll bring that things shields down. Give you a clear shot." She nodded.

"Overload?" suggested Alenko. Garrus nodded. They both popped out of cover and fired consecutive Overload attacks at the leftmost turret. It shut down and began smoking.

"I told you to die!" screamed Fist as he leveled a shotgun at Kent. Williams made him take cover by shooting first. Wrex fired a plasma shot from his now overloading shotgun. The turret's shields shattered. Williams lobbed the grenade perfectly, throwing it into the turrets base. The explosion destroyed the turret and knocked Fist senseless. Kent fell to one knee, barely catching himself before he fell completely.

"You alright, sir?" asked Williams as she moved over to help him up.

"Not one of my brighter ideas," he told her, "just a little tired."

"I saw it and I still can't believe it," said Garrus. "How the hell aren't you dead?"

"That was not biotics," accused Wrex.

"I have telekinesis," answered Kent as he recovered.

"Wait, you can move things with your mind without Element Zero?" asked Garrus in disbelief. Kent nodded.

"I didn't think superhumans were real," said Wrex as he stared at Kent.

"Trust me, whatever you heard, the more impossible it sounded, the more likely it was true."

"Your dad really moved a planet?" Kent nodded. "By the spirits. How strong is he?"

Kent shrugged. "We have no way to measure his maximum strength. Especially since he can move near the speed of light without a mass effect field."

Wrex grunted. "Reminded me not to pick a fight with your old man. So how strong are you?"

Kent stood over the still prone Fist. "I can pick up a few tons."

"A few tons, he says," muttered Williams, "like he's embarrassed it isn't more." Garrus stared at Williams and Kent and realized they were both being serious.

"Get up," ordered Kent as he tapped Fist with his boot. Fist got up slowly, looking very small inside his heavy armor. His eyes darted wildly over the group before lingering on Kent's sword and the S shield on his sash.

"Oh shit," muttered Fist.

"A Quarian came to you with information for the Shadow Broker. Where is she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kent stared at him a moment then shrugged. "He's all yours Wrex."

"Can I borrow your sword? I'll need an hour alone with him."

"Sure," agreed Kent cheerfully.

"Wait, please! Don't kill me!" pleaded Fist as as he shrank away from Wrex.

"Tell me where the Quarian is," demanded Kent.

"She's in the alley that runs behind the upper markets."

"I know where that is, Commander," said Garrus.

"Good. Wrex, he's all yours."

"What?" said Fist in disbelief. Wrex shot him before he could say anything else.

"Next time you might want to wait for the C-Sec agent to leave the room before you shoot an unarmed man," said Garrus lightly.

Kent adopted a confused look. "Unarmed? But he had a gun. It's right there," he pointed at a gun lying a few feet away from Fist's corpse. "You saw his gun, right Williams? Alenko?"

"Yes, sir," they both answered.

"See, he had a gun." Garrus chuckled at Kent. "Now, let's find this Quarian. I know your job is done, Wrex-"

"I'll stay with you. At least this way maybe C-Sec'll stay off my ass."

"Don't shoot any innocents and it'll be fine," said Garrus.

"Like him?" Wrex pointed a thumb at Fist.

"He's not an innocent," said Garrus, "plus, he attacked us first. It was only self-defense. And now the galaxy's a better place." Garrus tilted his head. "Maybe I can even get you a commendation."

Wrex chuckled. "You're alright. For a Turian." The team had been making their way back through Chora's Den. As they stepped into the bar they were met with a wall of bullets.

"Shit!" screamed Williams as her shield failed. She was tackled to the ground by a glowing blue mass before any bullets struck her. Alenko brought up a barrier and led Garrus to an overturned table. Kent, who had been in the lead, barrelled forward as bullets struck his body. He grit his teeth as he took a bullet to the cheek in order to stab the thug behind the bar in the chest. He swung his sword out of the thug's body and brought his blade around in a spinning backhand, slicing open the thug next to him.

Wrex stood up and moved forward, blasting away with his shotgun. Williams ran up behind him and fired around him while he waited for his gun to cool down. Garrus provided cover fire as Alenko launched his biotic attacks. Their cover was breaking down but Alenko was causing mayhem by biotically tossing tables and chairs. HIs attacks deprived the thugs of cover as well as distracting them. Kent performed a similar action on the other side of the bar, removing cover so the perpetually advancing Wrex and Williams could continue their assault.

Reinforcements came into the bar. One of the five new enemies was toting a rocket launcher. A discus caught the helmetless man in the throat. His companions turned to watch him die. The discus beeped once before a fireball consumed them. One dove out of the way, only to land at the feet of Wrex and Williams. He was soon splattered across the floor. Another one, on fire, tried to vault over the bar only to be beheaded on his way over.

"Clear!" shouted Kent. A chorus of 'clear's' sounded back. "Anyone hurt? Williams?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for the save, big guy." Wrex grunted.

"I think we're all good to do, sir," said Alenko. Kent nodded and led them out of Chora's Den. The outside was empty. Kent took point and led the team at a run under Garrus' directions. The alley had en extremely high ceiling and the floor rose and fell in sharp inclines at random intervals. The team crested the highest of the rises and saw a female Quarian launch a stun grenade and run from a trio of mercenaries.

Garrus took a knee and shot the single Turian mercenary in the head. Kent leapt at the two downed Salarian mercs, cutting one in half as he landed. The other gave a shriek as Kent thrust his sword into the face of his helmet. Kicking the body off his blade he cleaned with a single swipe through the air and resheathed it. The rest of his team ambled down to where the Quarian was staring at them all warily.

"We mean you no harm," said Kent softly. He had his hands up and open as he approached the Quarian slowly. "I'm Commander Kent with the Systems Alliance. We're here to help. What's your name?"

"Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," she answered hesitantly. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but why did you help me?"

"I was looking for evidence on Saren. My search led me to you."

"Oh, Keelah," Tali practically sagged with relief. "I've been trying to get this evidence to someone who can do something about it for days now."

"We'll make sure the Council hears your evidence. In the meantime, we'll keep you safe," Kent reassured her. "Stay close to Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. The big guy is Urdnot Wrex and this is C-Sec Detective Garrus Vakarian."

"Are you injured? I have medi-gel for us dextros if you need it," offered Garrus. Tali shook her head.

"I'm fine. I just wish I hadn't lost my shotgun."

Wrex picked one off the dead Turian and handed it to Tali. "Take it, he won't be needing it."

Tali turned cautiously to Garrus. "That gun is yours? Of course it is. Don't have the registration? I'll replace your lost one later," he said quickly with a smile.

"Thanks," said Tali.

"Come on, let's take the patrol car to the embassy. Udina will need to hear the evidence before we can secure a meeting with the Council." Kent and his team guarded Tali as they made the trip back to their borrowed patrol car. Once inside, Tali told them the story of her last few days.

She had been on her Pilgrimage from the Flotilla. After hearing reports of Geth activity Tali had gone to investigate. Tracking a small patrol, Tali had managed to isolate a unit and disable it. She'd recovered several pieces of data from it's memory core before its self-destruct mechanism kicked in.

"So how much-whoa!" cried Kent as the patrol car lurched forward.

"That was a freaking rocket!" yelled Williams. "Next time I'm bringing my armor!"

"Officer under fire! Repeat Officer under fire! I need backup at the warehouse district on Taeseri ward," said Garrus into the car's radio as he tried to control their descent.

"Put this thing down," roared Wrex, "We're wide open like this!"

"Emergency override: Kent-116A Theta. Detach and delpoy ID: Ashley Williams."

"What are you doing sir?" asked Williams. She protested as Kent grabbed her hand and roughly pushed up her jacket sleeve. He pulled a thick bracelet off his left wrist and snapped it onto Williams' wrist. "What the hell?" She froze in shock as a skin tight suit formed over her body, under her outerwear. "Is this?" she asked in shock.

"I should have done that earlier. Tali, does your suit have kinetic barriers?" Tali nodded frantically. "Let me see your omnitool." She squeaked as the patrol car bounced off a building.

"Put us down!" Wrex roared at Garrus.

"I'm trying to but we're going too fast!"

"Alenko, Wrex, use your biotics and slow us down! Oracle, add Tali'Zorah nar Rayya to our Battlenet."

" _Complying._ " As Alenko and Wrex wrapped the skycar in a blue biotic field, Tali and Kent's omnitools gave a simultaneous beep.

"Brace for impact!" called out Garrus. The car had noticeably slowed but still hit the ground hard. It bounced once before coming to a screeching halt. Kent eyeballed his team before a TK surge blew the doors off the car.

"What hit us?" asked Williams as she stumbled out.

"The Citadel," deadpanned Kent. Williams shot him a dirty look.

"Some kind of rocket," answered Garrus, "and then the Citadel." Garrus shrugged when Williams turned her dirty look on him. Kent looked up and down the Warehouse dock they had landed it. Skycars zoomed overhead while industrial haulers hovered closer to the floor of the ward. There was no sign of their attacker.

"How long until C-Sec responds to your call?" asked Kent.

"I don't know Commander," said Garrus as he glared at his omnitool. "Usually the operator would've responded and let me know help was coming."

"Oracle, check transmission." Kent raised his hand into the air, his omnitool flared for a moment.

" _There is an active jamming field in the area. Unable to establish an outbound connection._ "

"They've isolated us," said Alenko.

"Then we need to get moving. This is hostile terrain and we're completely exposed," said Wrex.

"Agreed. Tali, stick with Alenko and Williams. Wrex, watch our rear. Garrus, with me. Find us the quickest way out of here."

"On it." Garrus quickly brought up a map. "Straight ahead, then a right at the next road."

"Let's move, double time," ordered Kent. The team began to jog forward. Tali easily kept pace with the marines at her side. Haulers rumbled down the street they were on frequently. Most of the warehouses had parking lots in front but there was no sidewalk. The team had to be careful not to venture too far into the street. They were also brought up short several times as a hauler turned into a warehouse, heedless of their presence.

"You see anyone Wrex?" asked Kent.

"No. No signs at all," replied Wrex grimly.

"That's good, right?" asked Tali hopefully.

"No," answered Williams, "They would have checked the car for our bodies, at least."

"They would have seen us come down. Either they're setting up an ambush or we're being hunted," said Kent. Garrus stopped and raised his assault rifle at an alley across the street. The rest of the team followed suit with their weapons. They all stared into the darkened alley for a long, tense moment.

"What happened?" asked Kent.

"Motion sensor picked up movement," explained Garrus. "It was just a blip but it was there." Kent activated his omni-tools flashlight. The alley was empty.

"Just an animal," dismissed Wrex.

"There aren't any wild animals on the Citadel. Nothing bigger than a fish gets through customs," retorted Garrus.

"Maybe it was a, uh, Keeper?" suggested Alenko.

"Maybe," temporized Garrus.

"Let's keep moving," said Kent. He carefully led the team forward. Fortunately there wasn't an ambush waiting for them around the corner. "Where are all the people?"

"This part of the warehouse district is almost fully automated. There are drivers in some of the haulers and managers in the warehouse but they just watch over the machines doing the work," explained Garrus. "Plus, this area isn't meant for foot-" Garrus whirled on the building to their right. The closed and empty building to their right.

"Another blip?" asked Wrex.

"There's nothing wrong with my sen-" Garrus cut himself off as Kent lobbed a discus onto the roof of the building they were facing. There was an explosion and a high pitched scream. A black amorphous blob flew off the roof and landed with a splat.

"What the hell?" said Alenko as he stared at the black puddle. Then the puddle contracted. "What the hell!?" The puddle assumed a humanoid shape. A female face appeared on what was the head.

"Inque," stated Kent as he recognized the assassin. "Last I heard you were still at Blackgate."

"Superbrat," drawled Inque, "I should have known you'd get mixed up in all this. 'Alliance interference' my ass."

"What do you want, Inque?"

She flowed to the side, bringing her in line with the center of the group. "I was hired to take out the alien," she said as she stared at Tali. "Now why don't you let me have her and I won't have to hurt you."

Kent snorted. "No."

"Always doing things the hard way."

"I don't care what you are," said Wrex as he leveled his shotgun at Inque, "you're completely outnumbered."

"Your bullets are useless, fool," spat Inque.

"The bullets might be," agreed Wrex before he smiled viciously. "But that explosion made you scream nicely. Care to try a plasma shot?"

Inque glared at him. She took a breath, or at least appeared to, and then smirked at Wrex. She raised her hand and pressed a sphere in her hand. "Now." As soon as she finished her command, Garrus whirled around. He'd switched his assault rifle for his sniper rifle during the earlier banter. Taking a knee, he sighted and shot in one smooth motion. A mercenary who had appeared from an alley on the other side of the road fell back with a gaping hole in his chest. Wrex fired off his plasa shot but Inque melted into a puddle, letting the attack pass harmlessly over her.

"She's mine," shouted Kent as he charged. "Protect Tali!" He charged diagonally to Inque's position. The puddle slithered forward before rising into Inque's favored combat form. It was humanoid in shape but its limbs came to razor sharp points. Instead of a face her head had a giant white spot, like a great pupil less eye. She charged at him far faster than a normal human could. As she got close she leapt at him, her body taking the shape of a giant, spinning saw. Kent dodged to the side, his cape whipping behind him. Inque landed and cut a furrow into the floor before she stopped herself.

Not for the first time, Kent wondered how his Dad fought with a cape. He had to alter his movements so it wouldn't get tangled in his limbs. He'd barely turned toward Inque when she was on him. Her arms were a whirling mass of scythes. Kent leapt back and drew his sword, lopping off one of her scythes. Inque let out a strange, warbling scream and dissolved into a rushing torrent. She collected her errant body part and rounded on Kent. He steadied himself to meet her attack. He'd braced for another blade rush so was surprised when Inque's top half transformed into a large hammer.

Kent's hasty block against her literally hammer blow couldn't keep him from being launched up onto the side of the warehouse. He spun and stabbed his sword into the wall, using it as a handle to launch himself onto the roof. Inque transformed into a spider-like form and skittered up the wall after him. Kent threw a discus at her. She expanded her body into a circular opening, allowing the discus to pass through her. The discus struck the ground and burst into a cloud that quickly froze into a sheet of ice.

Inque flowed into the warehouse through a window. Kent frowned before he jumped off the roof. Inque burst through the ceiling a moment later. Snagging his sword on the way down with TK, Kent sent another discus up, embedding it onto the ledge he'd jumped from. Inque looked over the ledge for him. The discus exploded, freezing her top half. She toppled off the roof and shattered as she hit the floor.

Wrex had moved in front of Tali and activated his Barrier. "Stay behind me," he ordered. He turned to his left as someone pressed a shotgun into his off-hand.

"Let me borrow that sniper rifle," said Williams as she handed him her pilfered shotgun. He nodded and began alternating fire with a shotgun in each hand.

"Don't scratch that or I'll make you pay for it," he told her in between shots.

"Bill Udina for it. I'm sure he has the credits to spare," retorted Williams as she blew away one of the slowly encroaching mercenaries. Garrus joined with her in order to cover their right flank. Alenko sent a throw field arcing over the team, pushing the mercenaries front line back. Occasionally a hauler would barrel down the road between them, giving both sides a short break.

"How's the commander?" asked Garrus . He leaned away from Tali as she fired a plasma shot around Wrex's arm.

"Nice shot!" congratulated Wrex as they continued their barrage.

"He's got things well in hand. We almost done with these guys?" asked Alenko as he launched another Throw.

"Almost- the hell?"

"Gunny?" asked Alenko.

"One of them just launched an Overload at- shit! Truck!" screamed Williams. One of the haulers had been struck, shutting down all its systems. The truck immediately fell from its hover and began skidding along the ground with an unbelievably loud screech. It started drifting. Unfortunately it was heading straight for the team.

And then Kent barreled into the side of the truck. His tackle tipped the truck over and changed its trajectory. It crashed into the alley the mercenaries had been pouring out of earlier. Garrus and Williams immediately gunned down the two mercenaries foolish enough to stand and gawk.

"You guys alright?" asked Kent a little breathlessly as he casually walked up to the group.

"Are we alright!? What about you!?" exclaimed Tali incredulously.

"I'm fine," he drawled. "Inque's down," he gestured behind the team were Inque was frozen in a solid block of ice. "But she'll defrost soon. Are comms still down?" An empty open-bed hauler came to stop next to them. An Elcor poked his head out of the driver side window.

"Concerned: Are you alright?"

The team glanced at each other in surprise for a moment. Garrus walked up to the Elcor. "C-Sec emergency," he commanded, "I need to requisition your vehicle."

"Alarmed: I cannot leave my truck. My boss will have my head."

"I'm sure Garrus will be happy to get you a note from C-Sec explaining this but we need to get out of here. Now," said Kent. He was already motioning his team forward.

"Incredulous: But, but," kent ignored the Elcor and opened the passenger door. While the driver's seat was an odd inclined cradle made for an Elcor, the passenger seat was a very roomy couch.

"Alenko, Tali, Garrus, in the cab. Williams, Wrex, in the back with me."

"Here Chief, you'll probably use this more than I will," said Garrus as he handed her his sniper rifle.

"Thanks," she told him as she handed Wrex his own rifle. He handed her back her shotgun, which she folded up and latched onto her thigh. It was a little unwieldy but didn't bother her movements too much. She took Kent's hand and he easily pulled her up onto the hauler bed.

"Get this bucket moving," yelled Wrex as he leapt onto the truck with his biotics. He landed with a thud that rocked the hauler.

"Pleadingly: Please do not destroy my truck."

" _Garrus, get us out of here_ ," ordered Kent over comms.

" _Yes, sir_. _Get us to the Presidium, Embassy district._ "

"Hopefully: Open air haulers are not allowed on Presidium airways."

"They are if C-Sec gives you permission. I'm C-Sec. I give you permission. Now move!"

"Mournfully: I am going to be in so much trouble." The truck gained altitude and soon joined the rest of the air traffic.

"Whoa."

"Williams?"

"Mag boots just activated."

"Yeah, this is about to get bumpy," said Kent as he unspooled a high tension wire from one of his utility belts compartments and locked himself into one of the hauler's anchor points. Kent and Wrex had set themselves on the rear corners of the hauler. Williams stood behind the cabin, balancing Garrus' sniper rifle on the cabin's roof. Kent frowned at their slow speed. " _Garrus! Get us moving!_ "

" _Step on it! We need to get this thing moving!_ " ordered Garrus.

"Reasonably: Safety regulations state-" A skycar with the windows down opened fire. Ashley picked off the driver. The air car listly passed by Kent's side of the hauler. He hurled a discus inside the open window. The inside was engulfed in a fireball and the skycar dropped like a stone.

"Screw the safety regulations you bosh'tet! There are people shooting at us!" There was a loud crash as the skycar struck the ground. The hauler picked up speed. They quickly joined the streams of traffic over the ward. Garrus had overridden the Elcor's attempt to join the other hauler's and directed him to the much faster skycar stream.

"Cautiously: I cannot go faster. This hauler has a safety limiter-"

"I'm overriding it!" said Tali. "Done!"

"Dismayed: Oh. I was not aware that was possible."

Another skycar pulled up next to them. It's windows went down and a gunbarrel peeked out. Wrex fired through the open window. The gun fell back into the car. The skycar then sideswiped them. Kent leapt to the other side of the hauler, next to where the other car was pressing into them. He concentrated a moment, thankful that skycar's had exposed engines in the rear. He pressed his hand onto the top of the engine. The occupants of the skycar screamed as their now unresponsive vehicle assumed a ballistic trajectory with the ground.

" _What did you do?_ " asked Wrex over comms.

" _Five finger death touch. It's a Kent family special._ "

Wrex turned skeptically to Williams. " _This true?_ "

" _Yeah. His dad is famous for breaking machinery with a single touch. What did you do to them, sir?_ "

" _Disassembled their engine._ "

" _Nasty,_ " remarked Alenko.

" _How do you disassemble an engine with a single touch?_ " asked a bewildered Tali.

" _Same way you tackle a truck and win, apparently,_ " said Garrus.

" _Explanations later, we have company,_ " said Kent as he spotted two more cars fast approaching them from behind.

"I know this thing can go faster. Step on it," ordered Garrus.

"Fearfully: I'm too scared."

"Either go faster or be shot down. Your choice," said Alenko with a calm he didn't feel. The Hauler sped up. The closest skycar jinked as Wrex and Williams fired. Wrex missed his target. Williams didn't. A discus from Kent blew into the front compartment, making the point moot. It didn't divert the car from its collision course, however.

" _Move! It's going to ram us!_ "

" _Relax, Williams, I got it,_ " said Kent calmly.

" _What do you mean-_ " Williams cut herself off as the skycar bounced off an invisible forcefield.

" _Damn that's handy,_ " said Wrex. He fired a long-range carnage shot that the second skycar was too slow to dodge. The explosion made it clip against a civilian car. The civilian regained control of his vehicle. The mercenaries did not.

" _Garrus, where's our backup?_ " asked Kent.

" _Still can't get through._ "

" _I can use the car's CB and networked omnitools to send a burst if I have C-Sec's frequencies,_ " suggested Tali.

" _How many?_ " asked Alenko.

" _Our three should do it._ "

" _Go for it, Tali,_ " ordered Kent.

" _Incoming,_ " said Wrex as he fired at a skycar speeding at them from outside of the traffic lane.

" _Williams,_ " blurted Kent.

" _On it._ " She turned and fired, splintering the skycar's windshield. A second round from Wrex had the skycar careen out of control and clip a different hauler. It spun and fell.

"Get us into the lane above," ordered Garrus.

"Dubiously-"

"Do it!" yelled Tali, "Do it now!" The hauler jerked up. Kent slid into the rear wall of the hauler as it tilted up and to the left, joining another stream of traffic. Several skycars swerved and honked in protest as the hauler forced its way into traffic.

"Get ready to drop down into the second lane in front of us," said Garrus.

"Hesitantly: This isn't too bad."

" _Gunship!_ " warned Williams.

" _How the hell did they get that onto the citadel?_ " exclaimed Alenko.

" _And C-Sec complained about my guns,_ " grumbled Wrex.

" _Ready to send burst,_ " said Tali shrilly.

" _Do it!_ " said Garrus.

" _Incoming!_ " said Williams as the gunship launched a rocket at them.

"Fearfully: This is very bad," said the Elcor quickly.

" _Drop to the other stream,_ " ordered Garrus. This time the Elcor didn't protest and sent the hauler into a dive. The rocket miraculously missed traffic. Unfortunately it turned and followed the hauler's new course.

" _Shit,_ " said Wrex succinctly. Williams lined up her shot and fired. The bullet hit the missile head on. The kinetic impact triggered the detonator.

" _Nice,_ " complimented Kent.

" _Do it again,_ " said Wrex as the gunship fired another missile.

" _I got it._ " Kent waited until the missile was in his range and used his TK to detonate it. The explosion caused the skycars directly under the explosion to sway wildly. The gunship zoomed in, behind and above them. Kent threw a pair of discus at it. They bypassed the gunship shields but failed to embed themselves in the gunship's hull. The gunship was engulfed in a fireball.

" _Ha!_ " crowed Wrex. The gunship flew through the fireball, sooty but unharmed.

" _Call a mulligan,_ " said Williams.

" _You call those grenades?_ " complained Wrex.

" _Anti-personnel,_ " defended Kent, " _stress on the personnel._ "

" _Let's see if we can't make an opening,_ " said Williams as she opened up with her sniper rifle, prompting Wrex to join in. The gunship began to jink as it followed them, flying above the stream of traffic there were in. It began to fire indiscriminately with it's minigun.

" _How long till C-Sec gets here?_ " asked Kent.

" _We're almost to the presidium,_ " answered Garrus, " _they should be here soon._ "

Kent preemptively exploded another missile. " _They're closing in on us. They better get here soon._ "

" _They won't be prepared for a gunship, Commander,_ " warned Garrus.

" _We won't be able to bring it down before it closes,_ " said Wrex.

" _Can't you go faster!_ " yelled Tali.

"Hysterically: The accelerator is on full. I have no more speed to give."

Kent looked around for something he could use to- "A _lenko, have the hauler take us up over that archway ahead then rejoin the stream._ "

" _The gunship'll catch up with us for sure, sir._ "

" _I'm counting on it. Now go!_ "

" _Aye-aye._ " The hauler pulled up, out of the stream of traffic. The Gunship stopped jinking and pulled into a chase position. Kent threw his last explosive discus, making it back off. As the hauler approached the arch that marked the entry into the Presidium, Kent unhooked himself from the trailer bed.

" _Sir?_ " questioned Williams worriedly, " _what are you doing?_ "

" _Trust me,_ " he said with a grin before he jumped off.

" _Kent!_ " yelled Williams.

" _Crazy mammal,_ " muttered Wrex. The hauler dipped back down to join the stream.

Kent landed on the arch. As he expected, the gunship cut under the arch to close in on the hauler. He spun and sprinted for the opposite end of the arch. He jumped, drawing his sword as he fell through space. The Turian in the cockpit screamed as Kent's sword embedded itself in the wind shield, narrowly missing him. Kent spun around the sword, his cape flapping in the wind. Kent stretched a hand out and focused. The Turian stared at him in confusion. Kent clenched his fist. The Turian's head imploded inside his helmet. His headless body slumped forward, pushing the gunship into a shallow dive.

" _Could use a pickup,_ " said Kent as the Gunship dove into the traffic stream.

" _On our way,_ " responded Alenko. Kent used his sword as a handle to pull himself up the cockpit, pulling the sword out behind him. He ran up the top of the ship before leaping off just as the gunship dipped below traffic. He turned as he hung in the air. The hauler was rapidly decelerating until it was under him. Kent landed in the middle of the trailer bed, making the hauler dip slightly.

"Badassfully: Dropping in?"

" _Good one, sir,_ " praised Williams.

" _I could've done that,_ " muttered Wrex.

" _Then why didn't-_ " an explosion ripped through one of the parks of the presidium as the gunship crashed into it. " _That's not coming out of my pay._ "

" _Don't look at me,_ " said Williams.

" _The paperwork on this is going to be awful,_ " groused Garrus.

" _There's the embassy up ahead,_ " said Alenko.

" _Put us down right in reception,_ " ordered Kent.

" _Hauler and all?_ " asked Alenko.

" _You expect everyone to jump?_ "

" _Point. Take us down, right there._ "

"Excitedly: Sure." The Hauler's air horn blared three times as it made for the embassy's reception area. "Commandingly: Move your asses, I'm coming through." With a soft thud, and the crunching of an Avina terminal, the hauler came to a rest on the floor of the Presidium.

"Manically: Well that was awesome for something that is going to get me fired for sure. I can't wait to tell my girlfriend."

"Fired? Why? You have a C-Sec commendation coming," said Garrus.

"And the Systems Alliance will reimburse you for any losses and damages," added Alenko.

"Gratefully: Thank you. Sincerely: I wish you well and hope to never see any of you again."

"You too, you crazy bosh'tet," said Tali.

The receptionist, hired because of her extraordinary patience and unflappability, stared at them agape as the disparate group trooped into the Ambassador's office. She waved back listlessly when Williams threw her a cheeky wave as they passed her. Sirens sounded in the background as C-Sec finally made an appearance. As soon as they stepped into the office Udina began dressing Kent down without even turning around.

"I should have known better than to send a Leaguer to do this. Firefights in the wards? An all-out assault on Chora's Den? Explosions throughout the industrial district? Do you have any idea what-" Udina froze as he rounded on Kent and came face to face with his expanded team. "What the hell is this!?"

"If you'll stop complaining for a moment I can tell you that I found the evidence we need to take down Saren."

"Ha!" barked out Captain Anderson as he extended a hand to Udina with a wide grin. Udina sourly passed him a credit chit. Kent snorted.

"Ambassador, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She has all the evidence we need."

Tali manipulated her omnitool a moment. It projected several images: maps, graphs, and other data. She tapped one screen in particular. An audio file.

"Eden prime was a major victory," said Saren. "The beacon brought us one step closer to the Conduit."

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," said a female voice.

"There is still the matter of the Kryptonian," said an electronic monotone voice. "He managed to defeat my drone. It is likely he managed to utilize the Beacon."

"Would it still work for that thing?" snarled Saren.

"Unknown. If the Masters were unaware of Kryptonian survivors than the Protheans could not have had any knowledge of them. Their beacons were designed for the species of this cycle rather than the previous one. Kryptonian physiology is different enough from any current species that the beacon may not function as intended."

"Once again, Braniac, you speak much while saying very little," said the female voice. "How much of a threat is this Kent?"

"Minor. His Father managed to defeat a backup copy of my source program. However, Superman is many orders of magnitude more powerful. The Masters will deal with the father. The son is ours."

"If your copy was able to confront this Superman, why can't you defeat the weakling Kent?" asked Saren.

"I am limited to utilizing enhanced Geth shells for my drones. Though the Remnant are eager to interface with my superior code, they are limited in the power they can wield. My prime shell resides with the Masters. We need the conduit to unleash that power."

"Then take some more Geth. We still have much to do before we can locate the Conduit. We can't have anyone interfering. Eliminate Kent." ordered Saren. "Now our next-"

"That's all I was able to recover of that file," explained Tali. "The rest is topographical data of Eden Prime, some video records of the battle, and some text data."

"Kent," asked a white-faced Udina, "was that truly Braniac?"

"It must be," said Kent grimly. "What worries me more than the return of Braniac are these masters of his. The Reapers. I think the Beacons were meant as a warning."

"That's what you saw, wasn't it?" asked Anderson. "The Reapers exterminating the Protheans?"

"But what _are_ Reapers? And what is Braniac?" asked Garrus.

"The Geth believe the Reapers are a hyper advanced race of machines that wiped out the Protheans," explained Tali.

"Braniac was a Kryptonian AI," explained Kent. "It smuggled itself aboard the ship that brought my grandfather to Earth. It tried, several times, to set off a technological apocalypse. My father managed to destroy it for good once he found Braniac's original memory core. His drones are limited copies of his programming. They have a fraction of the original's power."

"The one we fought on Eden Prime nearly took all three of us out," said Alenko as he motioned toward Kent, Williams and himself.

"Sounds like a tough bastard," said Wrex.

"Should we call in the league?" asked Anderson.

"No," said Udina firmly. "If these three were able to defeat Braniac on their own then we can handle this ourselves. For now, I need a copy of this data to present to the Council. Saren won't escape us this time."

"Anybody else worried he sounds like a villain?" whispered Williams to Alenko.

"He's a politician. Wouldn't that be redundant?" Alenko whispered back.

"Fair point."

"Alright, let's get ready to for the Council, again," said Kent.

"Uh, sir, I don't have another set of dress blues," said Williams as she fingered a tear in her jacket.

"Dress blues? We're going in full armor."

"The Council might not appreciate us showing up fully armed," cautioned Garrus.

"I don't appreciate getting shot at all day," retorted Kent. "Wrex, you're welcome to come with."

"Miss a chance to walk in fully armed into the Council Chambers? Not for anything in the galaxy."


	5. Therum

**Chapter 5 - Therum**

The Council was stunned when the recording was played. "You wanted proof," declared Udina stentoriously, "there it is."

"This is," Councilor Tevos trailed off. "That was Matriarch Benezia."

"And she is?" asked Kent.

"She is a prominent leader among the Asari," explained a frowning Tevos. "She is a pacifist, teaching the principles of empathy and mercy to all peoples."

"I am more concerned with the A.I. known as Braniac," said Valern. "How great of a danger is it?"

"The Braniac we encountered before was a planetary level threat," said Udina. "We had many dangerous encounters with it until the current Superman was able to defeat it for good."

"At least we thought so," added Kent. "If the one we hear on the recording is truly the original, we have a grave threat on our hands. He'll have had unimpeded time since the destruction of Krypton to improve his programming."

"Will you be able to defeat this AI?" asked Valern.

"No," answered Kent honestly. "We'll have to call in the Justice League."

"They have no jurisdiction in Council space!" snapped Sparatus.

"It's either call in the League or face a technological apocalypse," countered Anderson.

"We will defer to the greater experience of the Systems Alliance in this matter," stated Tevos in a tone that brooked no argument. Valern nodded. Sparatus grudgingly nodded his agreement.

"In any case, that still leaves us with the threat of Saren," said Udina.

"He is stripped of his Spectre status," said Sparatus. "Without those resources he won't be able to act freely."

"That's it?" asked Anderson.

"What else would you have us do?" asked Valern.

"Send in your fleet!" exclaimed Udina, "secure the entire Traverse!"

"That would lead us into conflict with the Terminus systems," countered Sparatus.

"A fleet is a poor tool for hunting down one man," said Tevos.

"Only if you ignore his big ass ship and army of Geth," whispered Williams to Alenko.

"Then you can send one man to hunt him down instead," said Udina smugly.

"What? No! It's too soon!" protested Sparatus.

"You want us to invest Commander Kent as a Spectre and send him after Saren?" asked Valern.

"Who else are you going to send?" asked Anderson.

"We have other Spectres, Captain," said Tevos.

"And the _Commander_ isn't simply a soldier," said Sparatus. "He's also a member of this _League_."

"Kent has served with honor and distinction in the Systems Alliance since he took his oath eight years ago," said Anderson sharply. "His membership in the League has never interfered with that."

"The Justice League has held itself apart from joining the Citadel," said Valern. "It would be very unorthodox to select a Spectre from a government that was not part of Citadel space."

"You would not be selecting a Leaguer as a Spectre," said Kent. "You would be electing a Systems Alliance marine."

"Would the League consider joining the Citadel if you are elected Spectre?" asked Tevos keenly.

"As a representative of the League, I can state with certainty that my admission to the Spectres will definitely make the Justice League consider membership with Citadel Space."

Tevos leaned back, an open smile on her face. She turned to Valern, who nodded. They turned to Sparatus. He glared at Kent for several moments before nodding as well. "Commander Kent, step forward," stated Tevos. Kent stepped forward, in his black and red nanosuit, and assumed a parade rest.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," intoned Tevos.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen," continued Valern. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions lift them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance," said Tevos. "They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," said Sparatus, clearly putting aside his dislike because of the solemn nature of the moment. "Both our first and last line of defence, the safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first Human Spectre, Commander," reminded Tevos. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your species."

"Thank you, Councilors. I'll strive to be worthy of this honor," said Kent with a slight bow of his head. "I'm assuming Saren is my first mission."

Valern nodded. "We're sending you into the Traverse after him. Saren is a traitor and a fugitive from justice. You are authorized to use any means necessary to capture or eliminate him."

"We'll forward any information we have on Saren to Ambassador Udina," said Sparatus.

"That concludes our business for today," said Tevos. "This meeting of the Council is adjourned."

Captain Anderson moved over to Kent as they left the Council chambers. "Congratulations Commander," said Anderson as he shook Kent's hand. "You've earned it."

"Yes, sir," replied Kent.

"You're going to need a ship, crew, supplies…" said Udina.

"As a Spectre you'll have access to special equipment and intelligence," said Anderson. "There's a Spectre Outpost near the Embassies. Head there."

"I'll make sure your Spectre Authorization is in place by then," said Udina. "Come, Anderson, I'll need your help setting the Commander up for his mission."

Kent and his crew hung back as the Ambassador and Captain marched off to the Elevators.

"You'd think the Ambassador would be happy," said Tali, "he didn't even thank you."

"I haven't done anything as a Spectre yet," said Kent.

"Plus he's an ass," added Williams.

"He's a politician," said Alenko.

"Same difference."

Kent chuckled as he lead his crew into the next available elevator. Once they were in, he turned to Wrex and Garrus. "We make a good team." He turned to Tali. "The three of you are welcome to join me."

"It would be an honor, Commander," said Garrus.

"Same here," said Tali.

"You normally get into fights like we did earlier?" asked Wrex.

"Only most of the time," said Kent casually.

"Heh, this is going to be fun."

"Great! Alenko, take everyone to get them the best gear available," said Kent as he sent Alenko an access key via omnitool. "I'll foot the bill."

"I definitely know the best places to go," said Garrus.

"Thanks," said Alenko, "that'll make things easier."

"You're heading to the Spectre office, sir?" asked Williams.

"Yeah, I'll see what they have available. I'll message you once I know what Udina has planned for us."

"Aye-aye," said Alenko.

Things moved quickly after that. Kent spent some time familiarizing himself with the operations of the Spectre Office. He bought a full set of Spectre Masterwork guns for himself. Fortunately they could be easily modified to work with his suit. After downloading all the intelligence the office had on Saren, Udina called him to meet at the Normandy's dock. He messaged his crew, who had put a sizable dent in his League operational funds, and they all gathered at the Alliance docking bay, where Udina and Anderson were waiting for them.

"Congratulations Commander," said Udina without preamble. "Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

The alliance marines turned in shock to Anderson. "She's quick and quiet. You know the ship _and_ her crew. It's a perfect fit for a Spectre."

"That's not the whole truth, sir," protested Kent.

"You'll know soon enough, if you have Saren's files." Anderson took a breath. "I was once considered to join the Spectres. Saren was my supervisor, like Nihlus was for you. He made sure I didn't make it. I took the blame when he set fire to a mining facility we were infiltrating."

"And you couldn't make the charges stick with his Spectre status in the way," said Kent as he connected the dots.

"Exactly. Plus, you're a Council Spectre now. You're outside of the chain of command. And the Normandy is the best ship for a small infiltration force."

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down," said Kent with a salute.

Anderson returned it. "I know you won't"

"We also have one lead for you to pursue," said Udina. "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter. A Doctor Liara T'soni. She's currently on site at a dig for Serrice University. The dig is located on Therum, Knossos system in the Artemis Tau cluster."

"Do we have anything that ties her with Saren?" asked Kent.

"Just that she's Benezia's daughter and she's one of the Asari's foremost experts on the Prothean Disappearance," said Anderson.

"She might be able to help interpret the Beacon's message, if she isn't already working for her mother and Saren," said Kent.

"Precisely our thinking, Commander," said Udina. "The Normandy is ready for to get underway. Congratulations and good luck." Udina stretched his hand out. Kent shook it. Everyone waited until Udina's elevator was well away before talking.

"Come clean with me, sir," said Kent. "What really happened?"

"This was always going to be your command, Kent," answered Anderson. "Even if you weren't accepted into the Spectres, the Normandy was always going to be yours. For now, I'm going to take a long put-off vacation." Anderson shook his head ruefully. "I'm not as young as I used to be. Don't have the legs anymore to go chasing after Saren."

"I'll make sure to give him a good one for you, sir."

"Ha! I bet you will." Anderson's grin faded as he became somber. "You're heading into a firestorm, Kent. Saren was already dangerous. He'll have Benezia's Asari commandos backing him up, as well as an army of Geth. Not to mention Braniac. But you're the pride of the Alliance. The pride of Humanity. Go show the rest of the galaxy why that is."

"Yes, sir!" With one final salute, that the Alliance marines and Garrus returned, Anderson took his leave.

"I've seen a lot of warriors have to hang up their guns," said Wrex. "He wasn't ready to give up his."

"No," said Kent, "but we can't worry about that now. Is all your gear ready to go?"

"It'll be loaded within the hour," reported Kaidan.

"Good. Let's get you all settled in."

Two hours later the ship was finally ready to get underway for its second mission. Kent stood at the Captain's perch overlooking the central hub of the command center. He flicked it over to Galaxy Map mode and punched in his destination.

" _I have our heading, Commander,_ " reported Joker. " _You want to say a few words?_ "

"Yeah," answered Kent.

" _Intercoms are all yours._ "

"This is Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Kent speaking." Kent's voice rang out through all the ship's speakers. "We have our first mission. Track down Saren and bring him to justice for the attack on Eden Prime and his betrayal of the Citadel Council. For too long Humanity spent its time fighting itself. Focusing on our differences. White or black. Baseline or Meta. Organic or Synthetic. Now that we've finally put that behind us we come out into a diverse galaxy. A galaxy that Saren and his allies threaten." Kent took a breath. "We need to do this for Humanity. But we also need to do this for all the other species of the galaxy. For all sentients. We need to stand together. All eyes will be on us. We will _not_ let them down. We _will_ stop Saren and his army of Geth. Let's show them what it means to be Alliance! Let's show them what it means to be Normandy!" A muted cheer rang through the ship. "Kent out."

" _Well said, Commander,_ " said Joker. " _Captain would be proud._ "

"Let's make sure he stays that way," Kent told him.

" _Yes, sir._ "

Kent spent the intervening time filling out all the paperwork generated by the takeover of his command as well as getting to know his squad and his crew. Ashley helped Kaidan pass the assault rifle certifications, which had been waived by his status as a biotic. Wrex spent his time observing the workings of a human warship and using the ship's holo practice room. Tali quickly endeared herself to the Engineering crew, while Garrus brought his mechanical expertise to maintaining the Mako.

" _We're on final approach to our dropzone,_ " reported Chief Navigator Charles Pressly, his new XO.

"Roger," replied Kent as he prepped the Mako for drop. Kaidan helped him ready the systems as his co-driver. Ashley had quickly claimed the gunner's seat in the turret. Tali was sitting in between Wrex and Garrus on the jumper seats. Kent made a mental note to have Tali certified for the sensor suite before the next time they had to deploy.

"Joker's found a place to land?" asked Tali. Kent and Kaidan turned around to see Garrus double checking his straps. Wrex looked on curiously.

"Yes," replied Kent. Kaidan turned to look at him. He gave him a wink hidden from Tali's view. Kaidan turned forward to hide his grin. "We're ready to go," he reported.

" _Sir, we have signs of a Geth incursion at the dig site,_ " reported Pressly.

"Any signs of the expedition?"

" _A garbled distress signal. Camera's managed to catch a glimpse of their base camp. It's shot to hell_."

"That wouldn't have happened if the Doctor was with Saren," said Kaidan.

"Not enough data to make any assertions," countered Kent. "For all we know it was an inside job. Or the expedition discovered something they were silenced for. It's all conjecture. For know, all we know is we're heading into hostile territory."

"Aye aye."

"Assume overwatch course after drop," Kent ordered Pressly.

" _Aye aye_."

"Drop?" asked Tali. The Hangar bay door opened in front of the Mako, showing the ground below. "Isn't he going to land first?"

" _Go! Go! Go!_ " yelled Pressly. Kent floored the accelerator.

"Wai-aaaaaaaaah!" screamed Tali.

The Mako's mass effect drive kicked in after they cleared the ramp, orienting the bottom of the Mako with the ground below. Their new position let them see the Normandy zoom off, gaining altitude. The mass effect drive, in conjunction with the jump jets, slowed down their descent until the suspension could compensate. The squad felt a gentle bounce as the Mako came to a rest on the surface of Therum.

Tali was still screaming.

"We've touched down," reported Kent. Tali forcibly cut off her yell. "Are you receiving Normandy?"

" _Aye aye, Commander,_ " said Pressly, " _reading you loud and clear._ "

"We're heading for the Base Camp. Keep us posted."

" _Roger_." Kent drove forward, skirting around a lava pool to the most direct route to the Archaeological expedition's camp.

"Are you humans insane!?"

"Probably," quipped Kent.

Tali caught Garrus' grin out of the corner of her vision. "You knew!?"

"Um," drawled Garrus, nonplussed.

"You stinking bosh'tet!" she yelled as she began slapping at his shoulder. "You could have warned me!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!"

She rounded on Wrex. "Did you know!?" Wrex shook his head. She jerked back and stared at him a moment, "You weren't surprised," she said accusingly.

Wrex shrugged. "Not the first time I jumped from a ship. At least this time I was inside a vehicle when it happened." Tali stared at him.

"Well, congrats on having your cherry popped," said Ashley.

"Huh?" asked Tali, confused. Kaidan snorted.

"At least there were no sweaty jocks involved," Ashley continued.

Garrus turned a confused look on Tali and Wrex. They both shrugged.

"Enough people," ordered Kent through his chuckles. "Eyes up, Ash."

"Yes, sir,"

"Scope's negative," reported Kaidan.

"All right. We should be able to cut through this valley, around another lake and through a sealed tunnel. The Base camp should be after that."

"Lots of magma around," said Ashley as she spun around. A view of the outside was projected onto her hud from a camera system rigged around the Turret joint, preventing the need for an exposed viewport.

"We'll make sure to steer clear. How's the climate control systems?" Kent asked Kaidan.

"Compensating. The heat sinks should be fine at this distance."

"Good."

" _Commander, you have a dropship incoming!_ " warned Pressly.

"Copy!" Kent turned to the inside of the Mako, "get me a visual."

"Yes, sir," replied the two marines.

"I have it," replied Ashley a moment later. "Incoming fast at seven o'clo-" she cut herself off as the dropship zoomed over the Mako. The shields took a pair of hits before Kent managed to maneuver them out of the line of fire.

"Normandy, we need air support! Ash, splash that thing." The boom of the main gun firing was his answer. The Dropship released two rounded cubes before the Normandy chased it off.

"Tali, what are those blue four-legged Geth?" asked Kent.

"Armatures," she replied. "Be careful of their stalk mounted Plasma cannons. The Geth use them as infantry-support."

"Strafing right," called Kent. He drove the Mako in a wide circle around the two Armatures, accelerating past their plasma shots as Ashley fired the main cannon then peppered them with the machine gun to keep their shields from regenerating.

Once they were both destroyed. Kent drove over an isthmus between two large pools of lava. Crossing the rise right after put the Mako in front of the Eldfell-Ashland mining facility. It also put it in front of three rocket turrets.

"That's not good," muttered Kent.

"Missiles incoming!" called Ashley as she fired at the middle turret.

"We have a path to our right," said Kaidan.

"Jumping!" Kent hit the jump jets and propelled the Mako over the rocket barrage. As soon as the Mako landed he spun it and made for the crevasse to their right. The ridge turned sharply right. Kent drove around the corner. There was another missile emplacement blocking the way. Kent jumped and jinked around the turret's rocket fire while Ashley blasted it to smithereens. Kent drove past it into an ambush of Geth waiting for them in the compound. Kent chose the most expedient course of action and simply ran over most of the Geth troopers. Ashley concentrated her fire on the Geth juggernauts leading the ambush.

"Where's the digsite?" asked Kent.

"If we follow this pipe system it should lead us to the tunnel and right to the digsite," said Kaidan.

"Alright, let's roll," said Kent. "Normandy, give me a sitrep."

" _Still trying to down this dropship, sir,_ " reported Pressly.

" _This guy's a squirrelly bastard in atmo,_ " said Joker. " _Damn machines are also using the lava vents to confuse our sensors._ "

"Any other surprises?"

" _I sent a satellite probe up. We're getting a lot of thermal activity and not much else. At least not without a dedicated scan net,_ " said Pressly.

" _Can't do that and track this dropship,_ " protested Joker.

"Down that dropship," ordered Kent. "We're heading to the digsite."

" _Roger, sir._ "

"We're going in blind?" asked Garrus.

"No other choice," answered Kaidan. "Our sensors aren't calibrated to be able to filter through this much thermal interference."

"I might be able to rig up a program to zero in on Geth signatures," offered Tali.

"Even through lava?" asked Garrus.

"It'll take a little longer."

"We'll definitely look into that later," said Kent. "For now we'll have to make due with close range information. Turning right!" Kent swerved the Mako around a plasma shot from a Geth armature that had moved out from behind a large boulder.

"Traversing!" said Ashley as she lined up her shot and blasted the armature. They fought through a few scattered Geth rocket troopers that fell easily to the Mako's machine gun. The curved around the far side of another lava lake and crested another rise. Kent spun the Mako around and floored the Mako back over the rise. The crest they just passed exploded, sending the Mako into a front flip. Kaidan turned the mass effect generator to the max as the Mako turned right side up, slamming them wheels first into the ground.

"Ow!" cried Tali.

"What hit us?" asked Garrus.

"A giant-sized version of the those armatures," spat Ashley.

"It's a Colossus," said Tali, "super heavy mobile artillery."

"How do we kill it?" asked Kent.

"A couple of rockets to take out its shields, a machine gun to keep it from regenerating, and a couple more rockets to breach its armor."

"Gonna take a long time sir," warned Kaidan. "And I counted ten rocket troopers moving in on our position."

"Fuck that," said Kent. "Normandy, I need an airstrike."

" _Give us the target,_ " said Pressly.

"Ash, get ready to paint that thing. Strafing Left."

"Got it!"she replied. Kent floored the Mako and hit the jump jets just as they cleared the rise. A barrage of rockets and a humongous plasma blast sailed under them. Kent landed and began strafing to the left of the Colossus.

"Jumping!" He jumped the Mako over a fusillade of rockets. Fortunately, the Geth Colossus couldn't seem to compensate for his speed at this range. "Normandy, what's taking so- jumping!" Unfortunately, while the Colossus couldn't compensate with it's slower moving plasma shot, the Rocket troopers could.

"Shields down 30 percent," warned Kaidan.

" _We have a solution, sir,_ " reported Pressly.

"Finally!" cried Ashley as she began firing on the approaching Rocket Troopers.

" _Missiles Away!_ " called Joker. Almost instantly, the windshield of the Mako became nearly opaque as the Colossus and the surrounding ground exploded, sending a shockwave that picked up and flung the Rocket troopers and pushed the Mako nearly to the top of the rise.

"Confirm," Kent ordered.

"Can't see anything through this dust," complained Ashley. Kent drove over several of the prone Geth, crushing them under the Mako's six wheels. "There! The target is vapor sir!"

"Normandy, we confirm kill," radioed Kent.

" _That's the good news, sir,_ " said Pressly, " _Bad news is we lost the dropship._ "

"Take up overwatch again," Kent ordered, "they're bound to come around."

" _Yes, sir._ "

Fortunately, they didn't encounter any heavy resistance. Unfortunately, the dig site was located through a narrow ravine that was impassable for the Mako. "Is there a way around?" asked Kent.

"On the far side of the site," said Kaidan.

"Way too long to get there, especially with the Geth all over the place," mused Kent.

"We'll just have to get out boots dirty," said Wrex.

"Right. Okay, everybody out," said Kent, "we're hoofing it."

"Aww," pouted Ashley. "But I like shooting the big gun."

"Onanism as defined by teen males," muttered Kaidan. Kent turned back to him in surprise and snorted. Alenko grimaced and shook his head. "God damn it, it's infectious."

Exiting in the middle of the group, Kent jogged up to join Garrus and Wrex, who were peering around a portion of cliff that jutted out, blocking most of the entrance to the ravine. "Hostiles?"

"Can't tell but there's a large open space with no cover ahead," reported Garrus.

"I can scan for geth signals," said Tali, "but I can't reach that far _and_ compensate for thermal interference."

"Well if that sensor won't work let's try another," said Kent cryptically as he knelt down and placed on hand in the dirt. His squad stood around, watching him in confusion for a moment. "Alright," he said as he stood up, "we have three geth waiting in ambush behind the large rock, one of them rocket troopers. There's more geth further behind them in the passage that leads up to the dig site. They built a watchtower so watch out for sniper fire."

"How the hell do you know that?" asked Wrex.

"Ol' injun trick," he said making Ashley snort. "Alright, Wrex, move up with me. We'll draw their fire. Ashley, Garrus, you pick off the snipers in the tower. Once we can push up, Tali and Kaidan, you move in to support us. Got it?" He received a chorus of nods.

Wrex wrapped himself in a biotic barrier and followed Kent as he barrelled forward. Three Geth popped out from behind the only large boulder in the middle of the ravine. Kent preemptively exploded a rocket from one of them before laying into them with his sword. Wrex made short work of his side with his shotgun. They slammed back first into the boulder and turned to each other.

There were two nearly simultaneous barks of sniper fire. " _Snipers are down_ ," reported Garrus.

" _Move up_ ," ordered Kent. He gave a nod to Wrex as he brandished his assault rifle before they ran around opposite sides of the boulder. A group of Geth, led by a shock trooper, tried to halt their advance. They kept pushing forward, despite the damage their defenses were taking, until a simultaneous mass overload from Kaidan and Tali splashed over the group. Kent charged forward and sliced the stunned Geth to pieces before moving up.

The Ravine narrowed as it approached a trail that led up to the dig site. There was a boulder blocking one side of the ravine. Three shock troopers, two rocket troopers and a destroyer. The shock troopers deployed strange hexagon shields that soaked up all their gun fire. Kent put up a shield as the rocket troopers fired on him. He felt a sharp yank as a set of grenades landed in front of him. Wrex had grabbed him and pulled him behind the boulder.

"Thanks."

"We need some way past those barriers," said Wrex. Kent felt the boulder they were hiding behind as it was peppered with bullets.

"Get ready to run," he told Wrex as he placed both hands on the boulder.

"What crazy stunt are you pulling this time?" Wrex watched as the boulder shot away from them as if it had been launched from a cannon. It rolled down the hill, easily breaking the geth barriers and scattering the Geth formation. He ran down the rocket troopers first as Kent made a beeline for the destroyer. The Geth destroyer made the fatal mistake of engaging Kent in hand to hand combat. Kaidan and Tali mopped up the remaining shock trooper as Garrus and Ashley ran up to join them.

The group carefully made their way up the path to the digsite. A rudimentary cargo loading facility had been built around the entrance to the site, which was blocked off with a standard mining seal. They didn't encounter any further resistance, which bothered Kent.

"Anything?"

"Got nothing, sir," answered Kaidan.

"Same here," agreed Ashley.

Garrus growled. "Doesn't make sense. There should be another perimeter here at least."

"Maybe they're afraid you'd just bomb them if they gathered together," said Wrex.

"Can't do that and leave the entrance intact," disagreed Kent. "They have to know the archaeologists would be our objective."

"Maybe a machine can't make the emotional connection?" asked Ashley.

"They could extrapolate our course of action from numerous previous examples," said Tali. "Even if it wouldn't be the logical choice they can still predict emotional responses from a statistical model."

"Keep alert," ordered Kent as the group walked in between a series of cargo containers on a path that led to the mining entrance. "This is a great spot for an am-" Kent surged forward and pushed Wrex aside. His protest died on his lips as a round splashed against Kent's kinetic barrier. The group turned and spotted an organic looking Geth jumping from its perch on top of a container to the scaffolding. A red targeting beam swung toward Kaidan, who took cover behind a crate.

"They're jamming our sensors," said Garrus as he fired a burst at the Geth, who hopped away from its position. Three more jumped up to different positions, trying to get the group in a crossfire.

"Any tips Tali?" asked Ashley as she fired.

"I've never seen Geth like that before!"

"We've got incoming on the ground," yelled Wrex as he fired his shotgun down the path between the containers.

"Garrus, Ashley, get the hoppers," ordered Kent. "Tali, Kaidan slow down the ground advance!"

"On it!"

"Yes, sir!"

Kent threw a discus at one of the hoppers near the edge of the scaffolding. It hopped out of sight. However, the scaffolding buckled under the ensuing explosion and an entire section came crashing down, taking one of the Geth with it. Tali sent an overload while Kaidan fired off a Lift. Wrex immediately fired off a Throw, detonating the Lift field and sending one of the Geth flying. Garrus and Ashley staggered their fire and managed to down the other hoppers one after the other.

"Alright, let's concentrate fire on the-" Kent was interrupted by the whine of the Geth dropship as it flew into position over them and began dropping Geth, including another armature. "Normandy! Dropship over our position!"

" _Shit! Sorry, sir!_ " responded Pressly.

"Get rid of it!" The dropship broke off as it was pelted by guardian laser fire. The squad huddled behind the containers as the Armature opened fire. The container shook and slid back a step but held.

"Our cover isn't going to last!" said Garrus.

"Cover me!" ordered Kent as he charged out from behind the container. He ran under the Geth's fire as his teams suppressing fire kept the smaller Geth off of him. He charged the armature as it readied another plasma shot. He swung his sword out and decapitated the armature as he ran past it. The plasma shot it was building destabilized and detonated, taking out the armature and the surrounding Geth.

There was a shockwave followed by the sound of a detonation. " _Dropship is down, sir,_ " reported Pressly.

"Good, keep the entrance clear," ordered Kent. "We're going in."

The entrance to the mine was almost abandoned.

"It's quiet," muttered Garrus.

"I'm not detecting any Geth signatures," said Tali. "They could be powered down however."

"Keep alert," said Kent as he led them to a dilapidated elevator. "Let's hop down. Buddy up." Ashley jumped into Shepard's arms as Kaidan took hold of Tali. Garrus and Wrex looked at each other before Wrex motioned at his back. Garrus jumped up and grabbed hold of his hump. The two biotics floated down while Kent dropped and absorbed the impact with his TTK.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" called out a distressed female voice. "I'm trapped! I need help!" Kent quickly led his team over to an active forcefield. Behind the forcefield, suspended in a bubble, was Doctor Liara T'soni. "Thank the Goddess! I've been here for over a day, I think."

"Doctor T'soni?" asked Kent. "My name is Commander Jonathan Kent, Spectre. I was sent to retrieve you."

"A human spectre? I had not-wait, did you say Kent?" Her eyes quickly flashed to the insignia on his chest and widened. "Oh my."

"An alien trapped in a cave on an undeveloped planet in an unsettled region of space knows who you are. Now that's fame," snarked Ashley.

"Quiet you. Doctor T'soni, can you fill us in on what's going on?"

"We were attacked, by Geth! Can you believe it! They haven't been beyond the veil in 200 years!" Ashley shot Kaidan a grin. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Do you know why they attacked the camp?" asked Garrus.

"For the technology?" asked Doctor T'soni hesitantly. "I'm uncertain what could motivate them. They started killing everyone when they arrived. A few of us ran here." The doctor grit her teeth as tears started flowing. "I was the only one who made it into the site. I trapped myself while activating the curtain barrier. Please! Can you find some way to let me out?"

"Sure thing," said Kent. "How can we deactivate this curtain?"

"It's thermally powered," she said, "the level below isn't shielded. You may be able to use the mining laser to dig through."

"Why wasn't that level already dug up?" asked Wrex.

"There's a magma chamber under that level. If we had dug too deep we could have destabilized the vent system and caused an eruption."

"Have to be careful then," asked Kent. "Tali, your scans find anything?"

"Sorry, Commander," she said with a shake of her head. "Other than the energy readings I can't seem to access any of this technology."

"Doctor T'soni? How do you know Saren?" asked Garrus casually.

"Saren? Do you mean Saren Arturius?" Garrus nodded. Doctor T'soni looked at him sketically. "I know of him, but I don't know him. The last I heard of my mother she was looking to be his advisor."

"That's it?" asked Ashley. "That's all your mother told you?"

"I'm sorry but I haven't spoken to my mother in over fifty years." Kent's team traded looks with each other. "Why? Has something happened?"

"Saren led the Geth on an attack on a Eden Prime," Kent told her bluntly.

"And you think my mother is involved?"

"We have a recording of her helping Saren."

"Impossible! My mother preaches peace and compassion for all species! How could- how…"

"I'm sorry, but it's true. We came here because you were our only lead."

"I'm sorry Commander but you've wasted your time," Doctor T'soni sagged in her restraints. "I don't know anything that could help you."

"Saren targeted this camp for a reason," said Garrus. "Probably to get at you."

"I'm just an archeologist, what could Saren-"

"What's your specialty?" asked Kent.

"The Prothean extinction. But I fail to see…" she trailed off again as the team traded looks. "What is it?"

"We'll explain later," said Kent. "First we get you out of there." He approached the barrier and looked at it closely. The light it was giving off was a side effect of the energy used to create a semisolid barrier of kinetic energy. Fortunately, this was his specialty.

"Commander?" asked Kaidan as Kent laid his hand on the curtain. There was a clear ringing note as a ripple spread out from his point of contact. "Whoa."

"What is he up to know?" asked Wrex as Kent clenched his fist. He spread out his fingers and a hole appeared under his hand, slowly spreading.

"Incredible," breathed Doctor T'Soni. The hole spread to the size of his torso before it collapsed with a low bass note.

"Damn it," panted out Kent. "It's too strong for me to stabilize an opening. We'll have to go with the mining laser and hope we don't blow us all up."

"Incoming!" yelled Tali. The team turned to find a troop of Geth firing on them. Garrus and Ashley assumed positions on the railing and began counter sniping. Kaidan and Tali each launched overloads. Wrex and Kent launched themselves off the balcony and into the center of the Geth attack.

All the Geth were destroyed in moments.

"Tali, can you work this thing for us?" asked Kent.

"Sure thing, Commander." They were through in moments.

"Oh, thank the Goddess," said a relieved Doctor T'soni as the group approached. "The console next to me controls this device. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure what I pressed…" She trailed off as Kent stared at the console for a moment then confidently pressed a series of buttons. Doctor T'soni collapsed to the ground as she was released.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" asked Kaidan as he helped her up.

"I will be alright," she panted, "I was trapped in that sphere for quite some time."

The ground rumbled beneath them.

"That isn't good," said Ashley.

"Normandy, we need evac asap," ordered Kent as he led the team onto the central elevator. "This place is about to blow!"

" _Exit to the site is secured,_ " reported Pressley.

" _Just make sure you outrun the lava,_ " chimed in Joker.

"If we die here I'll kill him!" snapped Wrex.

Kent quickly had the elevator rising to the upper level, giving them a straight shot to the exit of the mine. Kent growled under his breath as the elevator stopped and a squad of Geth led by a Krogan Battlemaster stomped into view.

"Surrender," called out the Krogan, "or don't. That would be more fun." His head was just turning up to track a blur of motion when Kent came down on him like a meteor. He raised his barrier. It broke into pieces as Kent slammed into him feet first. It was the only thing that kept him from being broken.

Garrus and Ashley reacted first and unloaded on the Geth. Kaidan sent a lift field up. Wrex shook himself out of his stupor, having just watched Kent bounce off the ceiling, and launched a warp. Kent buried his sword through the Krogan's face and into the ground, then held on as the biotic detonation washed over him.

"Let's go!" Kent called as the mine began shaking even more. The team ran for the exit. Kent lagged behind to make sure that everyone got out. He grabbed Doctor T'soni around the waist and ran with her, using his TK to nudge falling boulders out of their path, even as Wrex and Kaidan cleared a path in front of them. The team was rushing up the ramp into the Normandy as a tremendous wind picked up behind them.

"Go go go!" ordered Kent as he jumped up the ramp, landing in the hanger. There was not answering call as the Normandy flew up, even as the ramp finished closing. The team let out a collective sigh of relief once the ramp closed.

" _We are aweigh, Commander,_ " reported Pressly.

"Well done, extend my thanks to Joker and the crew," said Kent, "Also, inform Chakwas that she has an Asari patient incoming. Dehydration and exhaustion probably."

" _Yes, sir._ "

"Alright, we debrief in fifteen," Kent told his team.


End file.
